
Class. 



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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



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COPYRIGHT. 

WOODWARD & TIERNAN PRINTING COMPANY. 

ST. LOUIS. 

1892. 



MOV 14 1^^'-^ 






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+lohel(J, (gahf^^, Re'^opt^ 




ILLUSTRATED 



NOV 14 1892 



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PRESS OF 

THE WOODWARD & TIERNAN PRINTING CO., ST. LOUIS 

1892 



,H 3 J3f 



MOW To (jBT To 



MOT 3 



AND WHO TO SEE OR ADDRESS 
FOR FULL INFORMATION 



PRINCia, /JI^P)3N$3a ,N REGARD TO RATES, FTC 



From Omaha, Lincoln, St. Joseph, Atchison, Leavenworth and Kansas City. 

Mo. lac. R'y to St. Louis, Iron Mountain Route to Hot Springs without cliange ; or Mo. Pac. R'y to 
Cofieyville, Kan., and Wagoner Route, via l"t. Smith and Little Rock, to Hot Springs. 
C. E. STYLES, Passenger a id Ticket Agent. .Atchison, Kan. / J. H. LYON, Western Passenger Agent, 
J. N. JOERGER, Passr a d Tk t Agt LEAVENWORTH, Kan. ) 800 Main Street, KANSAS City, Mo. 

F. P. WADE, Passenger and Ticket Agent St. Joskph, .Mo. / E. S. JEWETT, Passengerand Ticket Agent, 

R. P. R. MILLAR. General Agent LINCOLN, Neb. ) 800 Main Street, Kansas City, Mo. 

T. F. GODFREY, Passenger and Ticket Agent. .OMAHA, Neb. ? BENTON QUICK, Passenger and Assistant Ticket Agent, 

G. E. DORRINGTON, Traveling Pass'r Agent. .OMAHA, Neb. { 1048 Union Avenue, Kansas City, Mo. 

From St. Louis, IVIemphis, Little Rock, Ft. Smith, Helena, and Texarkana. 

Iron Mountain Route, through to Hot Springs. 
W. H. MORTON, Passenger Ag't,Union Depot, St. Lodis, Mo. t H. D. WILSON, Passenger and Ticket Agt. Memphis, Tbnn. 
M. GRIFFIN, City Pass. Agt, cor.Bdwy.& Olive, St.Lodi8,Mo. ( H. F. BERKLEY, Pass'r and Ticket Ag't. Little Rock, Auk. 

From Salt Lake, Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Nevada, Carthage, Wichita, and All Points in Southwestern 
Missouri and Southern Kansas. 

Mo. Pac. R'y to Cotfeyville, and Wagoner Route, via Ft. Smitli and Little Rock, to Hot Springs. 

C. A. TRIPP, General Western Freight and Passenger .\gent, . S. V. DERRAH, Commercial Passenger Agent, 

1662 Larimer St., Denver, Colo / 21 Morlan Bluck, Salt Lake City, Utah. 

E. E. nOFFMAN, Traveling Passenger Agent, Denver, Colo. C E. E. BLECKLEY, Passenger and Ticket Agent, 

WM. HOGG, Ticket Agent Poeblo, Colo. ( 224 E. Douglas Avenue, Wichita, Kan. 

From Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Des Moines, Quincy and the Northwest. 

Any direct line to St. Louis, and the Iron Mountain Route, St. Louis to Hot Springs, witliout change. 

JNO. E ENNIS, District Passenger and Land Agent 199 S. Clark Street, Chicago, III. 

H. D. AR VISTROXG, Traveling Passenger Agent Jackson, Mich. 

From New York. Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, Cincinnati, and 
Indianapolis. 

Any direct line to St. Louis, and the Iron Mountain Route, St. Louis to Hot Springs, without change. 

W. E. HOYT.Gen'l Eas'n Pass'r Agt., 391, Brdwy, New York. / N. R. WARWICK, Dist.Pass. Agt., 131 Vine St., Cincinnati, O. 

J. P. McCANN, East'n Trav. Agt., .'591 Broadway, NEW Y'ORK. ) S. H. THO.NIPSON, Central Passenger Agent. 

G. K. DELAHANTY, New England Passenger Agent, ) l"** ^""''''-^ ^'- PITTSBURGH, Pa. 

W Washington St Boston Mass ) COKE ALEXANDER, District Passenger Agent, 

dW wastiingtou St., BOSTON, JIASS. I J Jackson Place, Inoian APOLIS, IND. 

From Richmond, Savannah, Atlanta, Charleston, Chattanooga, Nashville, Knoxville, Birmingham and the Southeast. 

Any direct line to Memphis, and the Iron Mountain Route, Memphis to Hot Springs. 

A. A. G.\LL.VGHER, Southern Passenger Agent 103 Read House, CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. 

From Louisville, Evansville, Lexington and Frankfort. 

Any direct line to St. Louis or Memphis, and the Iron Mountain Route to Hot Springs, without change. 
BISSELL WILSON, South'n Trav. Agt., 336 W. Main St., Lodisville, Ky. | J. W. MASON, Passenger Agent Cairo, III. 

From Galveston, Houston, Velasco, Palestine, City of Mexico, Laredo, San Antonio, Austin and San Marcos. 

I. &<;. N. R. R. and T.^t P. R'y lo Te.\arkana, and the Iron Mountain Route, Tu-x.arkana to Hot Springs. 

J. C. LEWIS, Traveling Passenger Agent Austin, TEXAS. 

From San Francesco, Los Angeles and All Points in California, Arizona and New Mexico. 

So. Pac. to El Paso, T. et P. to Texarkana, and the I. :M. Route, Texarkana to Hot Springs. 

L. M. FLETCHER, G. P. C. Freight and Passenger Agent G30 Market Street, SAN FRANCISCO, C'AL. 

From Colorado City, Abilene, Ft. Worth, Sherman, Denison, Paris, Dallas, Terrell, Marshall and Jefferson. 

Texas & Pacilic to Te.xarkana, and the Iron Mountain Route to Hot Springs. 

From New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Alexandria, and All Points in Northern Louisiana. 

Texas & Pacific Railway to Texarkana, and the Iron Mountain Route to Hot Springs. 
J. C. LEWIS, Traveling Passenger Agent, Austin, Tex., or any Ticket Agent Texas & Pacific Railway. 

From Mobile, Meridian. Jackson, Vicksburg, and All Points in Mississippi and Alabama. 

Any direct Line to Arkansas City or Jlemphis, and the Iron Mountain Route to Hot Springs. 

A. A. GALLAGHER, Southern Passenger Agent, S jj ^ WILSON, Pass'r and Ticket .Vg t MEMPHIS, TRNN. 

103 Read Home, Chattanooga, Tenn. ) 



J^i^ii]Jrrinti:publick,§obcitLj^i)^ ilUbe of j^mh,or 
mQi)hopoJi)^minc)e,iuill[incte depicted in^^pa^es ojthisbookeo 
locQiitie wherein allj^ Joule diforders, distempers, humours^Vapours, 
achf5,tumours,pQine5.tuiiii5es,ennm|e5 & juchlike ajjlictions mm; 
be cd^pellcd fromj^ bodie- &i)*ri^M Speedilie* 

U^feeekrr Q|ler fri\/olities Jueh os picturefquc [cenerie^ 
romQnIick romblinjs on hor^ebock oron [honks, his more, hunting o| 
i|^iuildebea[te,orbirde,or|ijh,clQncin5,eoc[uelrie^aIl fuch [ociol 
ripperie.iuilljinde here opportimitiei &[aeilitie5 for indul^iiy j^ 
i^htSome moodesgfoneiesb^^' Queans tajte-^j^ri^htmerrilie. 

S^bothe o| i)^afore|Qi J Jorte^ ^. condihons ofi)^ publiek 
mill finde in i|^ inns ofj^ ^ot^prin^$ ^h^enia ho^telrie, 
fuch commodious !od9in^s and luchjoode cheerejor^^ inner 
mon,^^ ij^^ue^ts ore fei^n to indulge in ij^ moffe extraVajonl 
laud^ ^ flatterie5--eJ^y ri^ht heartitie, 

Oiote.^^ artiste hcvJnj in his inscrutable maie^te (een [it 
to inScribe^f title ojy^booke in^^ ancient ftijlej^ compiler 
hath|ouncl itconfi^tent to write ^^ prrfoec accordin^lie. 
6fhisconceSfiontothecon5ruitiesaccompliShed,henoiupropo|e5 
to proceed in plaine tinited States --^^^ri^ht uiillin^lie- 



CONTENTS, 



PAGE. 

How to get to Hot Springs 2 

Object of ye Picture Booke 3 

The Trip to Hot Springs "i 

Tlie Hotels of Hot Springs 1"> 

The Hotel Eastman '^^ 

The Park Hotel -^ 

The New Arlington Hotel 3- 

Other Hotel Accommodations— Hotel Hay— Hotel 
Worrell— Pullman— Avenue Hotel— Plateau- 
New Waverly— Sumpter House— Hotel Jose- 
phine—Albion—Magnolia Villa — Taylor's — 
Haynes Villa 37 — 12 



PAGE. 

The Springs and Their Properties 43 

The Bath Houses 4.3 

The City of Hot Springs 47 

Happy Hollow 60 

The Man on Horseback 64 

Carriage Drives 6.5 

Potash Sulphur Springs 6G 

Gillen's White Sulphur Spring 6S 

Mountain Valley Springs 7.3 

The Ouachita River and its Inhabitants 74 

Hot Springs in Legend and History 7."i 

Statistical Table SO 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE. 

Graphic Scenes from Hot Springs of the past 5 

Tlie Old Way and the New ^ 

Malvern Station ^ 

Fir-st Glimpse of the Ouachita § 

Wood Hauling -with Oxen ^ 

Cove Creek '^^ 

Lawrence Station ^^ 

Scenery on the Hot Springs R. R 1- 

Glimpses of the Gulpha, Hot Springs R. R 13 

Arrival of Train at Hot Springs 1^ 

The Hotel Eastman and Surroundings 16, 17 

Children's Donkey Party l'^ 

Grand Promenade, Hotel Eastman 19 

Rotunda and Ball Room, Hotel Eastman 20 

Grand Parlor, Hotel Eastman 21 

Dining Room, Hotel Eastman -2 

Views from Eastman Tower 23 

Park Hotel and Grounds '-5 

Observatory, Park Hotel '-6 

Grand Parlor and Staircase, Park Hotel 27 

Grand Dining Room, Park Hotel -8 

Dancing Hall and Pavilion, Park Hotel 29 

Scenery near Park Hotel 30 

Park Hotel Bath Rooms 31 

The Old Arlington 33 

The New Arlington 34 

Views from the Cupola New Arlington Hotel 36 

Hotel Hay 38 

The Pullman 38 

Hotel Worrell 38 

Avenue Hotel 39 

The Plateau 39 

Waverly Hotel ■lO 



PAGE. 

Sumpter House 40 

Magnolia Villa 41 

The Albion 41 

Taylor's, Park Ave 41 

Haynes Villa 41 

HotelJosephine 41 

Hot Springs Mountain 43 

Glimpse of Bath House Row, Gov't Reservation 43 

View from Pro.spect ave 44 

Bath Houses 46 

Bird's-eye View of Hot Springs, 1891 47 

Hot Springs Creek 48 

Grand Opera House and Post OflBce 49 

Hot Springs Business Blocks 50 

Hot Springs Water Works 52 

Hot Springs Churches 53 

Government Buildings, Hot Springs 54 

Hot Springs Residences 55-59 

West Mountain from Happy Hollow 60 

Happy Hollow from West Mountain 60 

Scenes in Happy Hollow 61 

Sketches on Hot Springs Mountain 62 

Donkey Station, etc., Happy Hollow 63 

Chalybeate Springs 64 

Boulevard Drive, Hot Springs Creek 65 

Potash-Sulphur Springs 67 

White Sulphur Springs 69 

Hell's Half Acre ^0 

Scenes on the Gulpha "^1 

Mountain Valley Springs "'^ 

Scenes on the Ouachita 75 

Bull Bayou, Mountain Stream "6 

Wheeler's Ford and Ferry "8 



(Srapbic Scer^es 

— ^ fpom @— 









AAALVEF^N (2)TATI0M eJuncfion oj fhe Iron Mountian Route wi^h the Hot ^'^df^in&J) R-R- 




Jl^e Jrip to J^ot Sprii^f^s. 




JII{;RE is no question that the trip to Hot vSprings a decade 
ago was attended with a few inconveniences, especially after 
tlie traveler left Malvern and the railroad. The huge lum- 
bering stage coach was cramped, stuffv and shaky : the driver 
uncouth and profusely profane ; the streams to be forded fre- 
quent, frolicsome and deep: the mud likewise, except where 
the way was stony — and there it was hilariouslv frolicsome, 
you can be sure — the wild and woolly road agents, with 
regulation black masks and six-shooters, were ubiquitous, aggres- 
sive and acquisitive, and the journey such a twentv-five rugged, 
jostling, weary miles, that it delivered the venturesome passengers 
at the Springs in a condition of physical, mental and fre(juently of 
Rnancial collapse. 

If the gentle reader will turn back to page 5, he will find there 
I graphic portrayal of the wonderful transformation in the methods 
:>{ transportation through this region. The stage coach has given 
Aay to the Pullman palace car; the boisterous driver to the gen- 
lemanly conductor; the frolicsome ford to the Howe truss steel 
iridge ; the mud and the rocks to steel rails and stone ballast, 
and the black-masked road agent to the black-skinned sleeping car porter. 
How thoroughly enjoyable is this journey through Arkansas nowadavs! 
What luxury lurks in a Pullman car — that drawing-room of dreams by night, 
and jiarlor of panoramas by day! Every window is a frame for kaleidoscopic 
landscapes — here a cotton, there a corn field, livened by their duskv laborers; then 
a glimpse of some broad, majestic river, and again stretches of dense and sombre 
forests, void of the presence of man, fresh and fragrant in spring, cool and restful 
in sunnner, ilaming and magnificent in autunni, and relievetl of dreariness, even in 
winter, by the glorious greens of the hollv, pine and cedar. 

The train stops at Little Rock, the State capital, but the passengers are more 
interested in the sumptuous breakfast served at that desideratum of travelers, a 
really excellent railway eating house, which actually exists here. The meats, 
milk, eggs and butter are "out of sight," in a slangv, and soon in a literal sense, 
and away we go for the Springs. Malvern, the junction point of the Iron Mountain 



and Hot Springs railroads, is, now that a solid train is run between St. Louis and 
the Springs, reduced to the menial position of a way station ; so, without change of 
cars or transfer of baggage, the last stage of the trip is begun. 

The character of the landscape now begins to change ; the country becomes 
hilly ; the locomotive strikes heavy grades, and snorts and puffs and groans its 
way to the summits. Occasionally a limpid, hurrying, cascade-bedecked stream- 
let jumps from the hillside, bustles through a culvert, and scampers away into the 
thicket like a mischievous urchin. Suddenly some one exclaims, "There's the 
Ouachita!" (Say "Washytaw," please, not "Oochytaw," as if you had sat on a 
bent pin), and everyone rushes to one side of the car to catch a fleeting glimpse of 
a noble stream, as it sweeps majestically in a half circle 
around, and laving the feet of a lofty cliff We will go 
a fishing in the Ouachita later on, if you like, and , 

we will lie about our catch, also, I doubt not. 
A little further on a country road meanders 
in and out of the pines— the road of the stage 
coach, the fords, the mud, and the robbers, 
perhaps — and one sees, toiling patiently 
along, a yoke of sluggish oxen, slowly drag- 
ging their rude lumber-laden cart, and 
urged on by the "Gees" and "Haws" 
of the jeans - clothed native, and the 
prick of his galling goad. 




©UACKllI^' 



The train darts by a little station ; one catches the words "Cove Creek," in black 
letters. We don't stop now, for the reason that the locomotives of the Hot Springs 
Railroad have risen to the dignity of coal burners. A couple of years ago they burned 
wood, and we stopped, and the train crew and passengers — every mother's son of 
them that could walk and work their arms — used to get out and help "wood up." 
The old visitor to Hot Springs misses this episode; he also misses the fragrance of 
the penetrating, pungent, tarry smoke that was wont to belch out with such billowy 
and blinding bountifulness — and rejoices thereat. I find it stated in a publication 
descriptive of Hot Springs, that "Cove Creek abounds in trout." and desire to 
inform the enthusiastic angler that '"trout" is, in Arkansas, a generic term, applied 
indiscriminately to any kind of fish caught in small streams, but in particular to the 
black bass. I doubt if there are any brook trout in Arkansas waters, except at 
Mammoth Springs. There are certainly none in Cove Creek. But. to return to our 
mutton — the railroad train. We will now proceed to labor up further steep grades, 
shoot around curves so sharp that the rear brakeman can almost shake hands with 
the engineer, rumble over bridges, until, presto 1 we find ourselves surrounded by 
mountains and realize that we are, at last, in the "Heart of the Ozarks" and nearing 
our destination. 

A short halt is made at Lawrence, some seven miles from Hot Springs, where a 
handsome station has been erected for the accommodation of visitors to Potash Sul- 
phur Springs — a resort one mile distant, of great virtue, which will be described 
further on. As we leave Lawrence, we catch frequent glimpses of the picturesque 
Gulpha, a charming rivulet, which, like its sister streamlets, shimmers and sparkles 
through many a mile of wooded glen, on its babbling, bounding course to the 
Ouachita. And now let us devote the few minutes remaining, before the brakeman 
cries, "All out for Hot Springs," to a brief historv of the wonderful little railroad 
over which we have journeyed for the past hour. 

One afternoon in February, 18^4. three gentlemen alighted at Malvern from an 
Iron Mountain train on their first visit to Plot Springs. They were "Diamond Jo." 
Reynolds, Col. L. D. Richardson and Capt. William Fleming. A complete can- 
vass of the town failed to discover anvone who would agi'ee to drive them to the 
Springs thatdav for anv amount 
of money, so thev were com- 
pelled to remain over night. 
Next morning a Jehu was found, 
who, after much bickering, 
agreed to convev the parties to 
their destination for six dollars 
each, pavable in advance. Pro- 
testing, but necessarilv agreeing 

Wood Hauiiner with Oxen. 





to this exorbitant charge, 
the trio mounted the 
rickety vehicle provided 
them and set forth. Six 
miles from Malvern, and 
twenty from Hot Springs 
the wagon broke down, 
and the driver announced 
that he would be com- 
pelled to return to Mal- 
\ ern for another one. 
Disgusted with their ill- 
lortune, and already 
weary of the horrible 
jolting and snail-like progress of those first six miles, it was proposed and agreed 
that they should finish the journey on foot, which they proceeded to do, reaching the 
Springs late that night, but, nevertheless, ahead of the dilatory driver, who, having 
gone back to Malvern and secured another vehicle, followed them, an hour or so 
later, with their baggage. It was during this long, tiresome walk that the Hot 
Springs Railroad project was conceived. "By George, Jo.," said Col. Richaj-dson, 
"there ought to be some better way of getting over here than walking, or riding in 
one of these infernal cow carts." 

"That's so," answered Diamond Jo. ; "say, Rich, let's build a railroad. If 
people w'ill come from all over the world to visit these Springs, and undergo such 
experiences as we have, there must be something in them, and a railroad would not 
only develop the place, but. I l)elieve. would pay hand- 
somely." 

The conversation, thus begun, was continued as thev 
plodded along, and. after reaching the Springs ami before 
going to bed that night, it was agreed that Col. Richardson 
should take the earliest opportunitv to confer with President 
Allen, of the Iron iSIoimtain Railroad, and obtain from him 
such information and co-operation as would enable them to 
get the project under way. This conference took place in 
St. Louis a short time afterwards. It was learned that the 
Iron Mountain held a charter for a standard gauge road, but, 
on account of the stringency of mone\ at that time, did not 
feel warranted in incurring the expense necessarv for con- 
struction. As Diamond Jo. was enthusiastic over the 
scheme, however, and. as financial panics had no effect on 




1 



his pocket-book, the 
latter difficulty was 
quickly overcome, and, 
a charter having been ob- 
tained from the Legislature, 
with the assistance of President 
Allen, ground was soon broken, 
and the autumn of the same year in 
which the three pedestrians plodded their 
weary way, saw a narrow gauge railroad in 
full operation from Malvern to Lawience. 
The original fare was ten cents per mile, or 
$3.50 from Malvern to the Springs, the distance 
then being twenty-five miles. This fare was subse- 
quently reduced to $2.00, then to $1.60, and, finally, to 
$1.10, the distance having been reduced to twenty-two 
miles by straightening curves. In October, 1SS9, the road 
was changed from narrow to standard gauge, and, in 
January, 1890, the first Pullman sleeping car ran through 
from St. Louis to Hot Springs. This service, with such 
additions and improvements as experience and increasing 
patronage have suggested, has continued to the present 
day. Col. L. D. Richardson, one of the original projec- 
tors, some years ago took the position of general manager, 
and later, upon the death of Mr. Reynolds, became also 
president of the road, which position he holds to-day. 
Lnder his administration, a large amount of 
money has been expended in betterments, 
the line has been relaid with heavy steel 
rail, steep grades modified, new bridges 
built, and other improvements made, 
until to-day the property is in 
first-class condition throughout. 
Branch railroads, as a general 
rule, are but sorry affairs, 
with poor roadbeds, de- 
crepit rails and rattle- 
trap rolling stock, to 
say nothing of the 





12 



usual freight train time, irregular running and utter lack of accommodation. The 
Hot Springs Railroad, however, is a bright and shining exception, and to the 
traveler there is nothing about the track, cars or the time, to indicate that he is not 
on a main line of some great system. Three passenger trains are run each way 

daily between 
Hot Springs and 
Malvern, c o n - 
necting with all 
Iron ^Mountain 
trains and mak- 
ing the Springs 
perfectly accessi- 
ble, without de- 




coupon tickets 
can be purchased 
and baggage checked 
through to any pomt 
in the United States, every 
facility for the convenience of 
travelers being provided. The 
Pacific Express Company oper- 
ates over this line and has an 
office at the Springs. 

Well, there goes the wliistle. 
and the passengers are collecting 



13 



their grips, wraps and umbrellas. The train stops at a tasty little brick station^ 
backed by a handsome park shaded with lofty forest trees, and we disembark. The 
entire population is here to meet us — for it is one of the features of the daily 
routine to go to the trains to welcome the coming and speed the parting guests. 
And what a cosmopolitan crowd it is! English, French, Germans, Spaniards,. 
Italians, Greeks, Turks, Russians, Arabs, Africans — natives mostly — Indians, Chi- 
nese — they are all here ; and of our own Americans, every State in the Union is 
represented. Yet it is a good-natured, jolly, jostling crowd withal, with a general 
air of bonhomie that is contagious and makes one feel quite at home at once. 

As one drives to his hotel from the station, he is vividly impressed with the 
remarkable contrasts visible on every side. Strong and vigorous men pass, with 
manly stride, their antipodes in invalid chairs or on crutches ; the meek oxen gaze 
in silent wonderment at the spanking team of thoroughbreds which prances by ; 
the stylishly dressed New Yorker or Londoner strolls along, side by side with 
the Ozark farmer in his ragged suit of gray jeans ; the very buildings share the 
general antithesis ; handsome four-story bricks look down on crude one-story 
wooden shanties, and colossal hotels overshadow ramshackle lodging houses. 
These are the features that make Hot Springs so unique, picturesque and inter- 
esting. A recent writer concludes his article on the Springs as follows : 

'There is not an hour in the twenty -four that one 
entertained here to the full limit of his tastes, 
from a church fair to a cake walk, a milk- 
maid's convention to a Y. M. C. A. lecture, 
or a good sermon to a jack-pot or a 
prize fight. Hot Springs stands sui 
I'cneris. " 



cannot 




Jt?e j^otel8 of J^ot 5pi'i9<$s. 



IN selecting a hotel there are always several things to be considered before 
reaching a decision. One may be rich, and wish to surround himself with 
every luxury; or poor, but still desirous of all possible comfort; an invalid, in 
search of perfect quiet and careful attendance ; or in robust health, and on pleasure 
bent ; of strong social tendencies and looking for the companionship of Fashion's, 
devotees ; or of a retiring nature, seeking only for seclusion and rest. The patrons 
of Hot Springs number many of each of these classes, and many more whose tastes 
and requirements diverge still more. Nevertheless, this Arkansas resort is 
fully equal to the emergency. Its five hundred hotels and boarding houses are of 
all grades and suitable for all sorts and conditions of men. There is no place of the 
kind in the country — perhaps not in the world — where every one, no matter what 
his social, financial or physical condition may be, can find an abiding place perfectly 
adapted to his needs, so readily as at Hot Springs. 

To the wealthy seeker, after either health or recreation, he who is able and 
willing to pay for the best of everything, the Eastman, the Park and the New 
Arlington, offer accommodations not surpassed by any hotel in America. He can 
have rooms en suite, sumptuously furnished, with private bath; he is assured of an 
unexceptionable cuisine; he can surround himself with luxuries ad libitum. Those 
who do not care for such ultra-expensive lodgings, but who desire, nevertheless, the 
best possible living, will find in the same hostelries, accommodations exactly suiting 
their tastes. The large number of hotels of the middle class, excellent in appoint- 
ment and management, but not on so lavish a scale as the houses named, find their 
patronage largely among those who visit the Springs in search of health and do 
not feel warranted in going to any extraordinary expense. On this class also, the 
numerous smaller hotels, villas and private boarding houses draw largely, and the 
wide range of price, comfort and location is such that, as before intimated, any 
one can satisfy himself according to his resources. 

With a view of giving the intending visitor the best possible information, and 
thereby aiding him in determining the all-important question of how and where he 
shall live while at the Springs, and the approximate expense, the following pages 
are devoted to detailed descriptions of the various leading hotels, and to general 
details as to the smaller hotels and boarding houses. 

15 



The Hotel Ehstmhn. 




HE building of the Eastman was the beginning of the development of Hot 
Springs into an all-the-vear-round fashionable resort for rest and recreation. 
With its completion, the army of invalids constantly marching to this modern 
Mecca of health, found its ranks reinforced by robust representatives of the wealth 
and culture of the nation. There were to be seen gay groups of pedestrians and 
equestrians by day, and there were sounds of revelry by night. 

The hotel sprang up like another Aladdin's palace, but eight months elapsing 
from the beginning of the structure, in May, 1SS9, until it was ready for occupancy. 
It is an imposing five-story building, of colossal dimensions, covering several acres 




of ground, and crowned 
with lofty towers and 
observatories which 
overlook the Ouachita 
Valley and the peaks 
of the Ozarks for miles 
and miles. It is con- 
structed on two sides of 
a quadrangular park, 
decorated with trees, 
flowers and fountains, 
forming a delightful ap- 
proach. The hotel con- 
tains five hundred and 




tloTcL Easta\an 



twenty guest rooms, all large, well lighted and elegantly furnished and appointed. 
Each room may be considered a front one, as there are none but command delight- 
ful yiews of valley, mountain, stream or woodland. The main halls, tvyelve feet 
wide, extend through the center of the entire building, each forming a grand prome- 
nade six hundred and seventv-hve feet long. 




Children's Donkey Party. 



No fire is ever lighted in the house except in the magnificent fire-places in the 
parlors and office, and in the kitchen, which is positively fire-proof. The building 
is heated throughout by steam and lighted by electricity, both the incandescent and 
the arc systems being used. There are few resort hotels in the country that have 
made such bounteous provision for the comfort and con- 
venience of their guests as the Eastman. Besides the grand 
rotunda, 52 by 70 feet, and the grand parlor, there are a 
ladies' j^arlor, ladies' reading room, gentlemen's parlor and 
gentlemen's reading room, ladies' billiard room, card and 
reception rooms, and writing rooms galore. All are most 
sumptuously furnished and fitted with every necessary 
accessory. 

The bath house and its appointments are simply superb. 
It is located east of the hotel and across Cottage avenue, but 
a corridor built across this avenue connects the two buildings, 
18 




the coiridor heino; an extension of tlie second-stfirv 
hall. Hoth coiridor and hath house are heated bv 
steam, insiniui^- an equable temperature to the 
bathers en rcnite to and from their rooms. There 
are eiyht ])arlors and fortv bath rooms, the latter 
constructed eiitircK of brass And marble, and tin- 
bath tut)s lined with the most expensive Roman 
porcelain. The hot water is brou<jht from the 
•i^overnment reservoir tar above, on Hot Springs 
Mountain. 
The spacious jiark in front of the Eastman. abo\e referred to. forms a j^reat 
rompinjj orroinid for the children, who can be seen at all hours of the da\ busv at 
their <>ames, rolling and tumblins^^ on the grass, riding the obstinateU slow but per- 
sistent burros, laughing and screaming with delight, while their more sedate elders 





Grand Promenade. Hotel Eastman 
look on complacentlv as they promenade along the Inroad verandas or rest (piietlv in 
the iiuge but cosy rocking chairs. 

The observatorv tower is a popular addition to the Eastman, rising to an eleva- 
tion of nearlv two hundred feet, and revealing to the guest who scales its di/.z\ 
height a magniticent cvclorama of mountain and \ ale and forest streams, which well 
repays the exertion of the ascent. 

The daily routine at the Eastman is literally one conliinial round of pleasure. 
The hotel is blessed with a superb orchestra, which discourses sweet music morning. 

I'.t 




afternoon and night in 
the grand rotunda. So 
popular is this orches- 
tra that it is a regular ''°*""'^^ ^"^ ^^" ^°°'^' 

fad for the guests of other hotels to organize parties to visit the Eastman and listen 
to the concerts. At nine o'clock each night the music adjourns to the grand ball 
room and furnishes rythmic inspiration for an assemblage of merry dancers. A ger- 
man is given at least once a week, and square and round dances are in vogue on 
other nights. This, with card parties, theater parties, exploring trips among the 
mountains, horseback excursions in the country, and the other numerous amusements 
always suggested at pleasure resorts, make the life of the Eastman guests a truly 
happy one during their sojourn at the Springs. 

20 




Dining Roonn. 

The season at the Eastman usually runs from early in January until June ist, 
announcements as to the exact time of opening and closing being made in ample time 
each year. The present season of 1S93 is the third, and the large patronage, e\ en 
exceeding the capacity of the hotel, shows its great popularity. Its guests register 
from all quarters of the globe. 

The attendance at the Eastman is unexceptional. From the manager down to 
the bell boys, the sole and constant aim of each attache appears to be to insure the 
comfort and pleasure of the patrons — no easy task, when one thinks that they haye a 
population that would make a small city of itself, to look after and care for, to lodge, 
amuse and feed — and that reminds me. that any description of the Eastman omitting 
reference to the grand dining room and its splendid seryice would be playing Ham- 
let with Hamlet left out. 

The first impression, as one enters this stately and extensiye hall, is one of 
mingled wonder, bewilderment and admiration ; wonder at its colossal dimensions, 
bewilderment at the gorgeous spectacle afforded by the myriad lights and the gaily 
dressed multitude, and admiration of the beautiful and harmonious decorations. A 
thousand people may be seated here and served speedily and satisfactorily by the 
army of thoroughly trained waiters. The menu is not surpassed by any hotel in 
America. Thanks to the perfection of the refrigerator car system, the choicest 
meats, game and delicacies from all parts of the world can be and are seryed to 
guests here, as fresh and delicious as if on their native heath. There is never lack 
of variety, either in the food or its preparation, which shows the chefs to be masters 
of their art — the true art preservative. 



The Phrk Hotel. 



^^ OU have noticed that handsome five-story brick, over yonder on Malvern 
1'^ avenue? Well, that is the Park Hotel, and we are about to investigate it. 
Though but two blocks from the railway station, these two blocks are in the opposite 
direction from the noise and bustle of the business houses on Central avenue, and we 
find ourselves on a quiet, shaded street, not unlike that of a peaceful country village, 
but for the street cars which run to and from the main part of the city. We are nat- 
urally impressed with the architectural beauty of the hotel, with its pleasing promise 
of quiet comfort, and with its charming surroundings. Located on an eminence in a 
natural park of some ten acres, with grassy, flower-bedecked lawns, and lofty trees, 
it commands an unobstructed view on every side, of the picturesque Ouachita Valley 
and the encircling arms of its mountain lover — the Ozark range. This bright sunny 
afternoon the broad verandas are gay with guests, some promenading slowly to and 
fro ; others engaged in a go-as-you-please contest — six times around and back to the 
mile; still others in easy chairs, enjoying the warmth and geniality around them. A 
merry party of young people come out, mount their waiting horses and dash away 
for an excursion among the mountains. Inside, the same air of cheerfulness pre- 
vails. The rotunda is superb in its ornamentation, brilliantly lighted from all sides, 
and enlivened by the presence and conversation of a hundred people, who gather in 
jolly, chattering groups, or loll lazily in the huge rocking chairs, behind a paper or 
the latest novel, while, at short intervals, a fine orchestra drowns, with its melody, 
the euphonious hum of busy voices. \ 

Under the ciceronage of an affable young man, with silvery hair, a silvery 
tongue and a bunch of brassy keys, we are conducted through the hotel. We are 
told, as we start, that there are two hundred and seventy-five guest rooms, all front 
rooms, and all equally well furnished and fitted. We pass through a short hallway, 
near at hand, and are shown into the bath house — in a separate building, but so near 
that it is but fifty steps from the elevator to the baths. Forty rooms with marble 
walls, tiled floors and porcelain tubs, for the regulation Hot Springs baths ; separate 
rooms for Russian vapor, Turkish, needle, electric, and other cleansing and par- 
boiling devices; hot rooms, cooling rooms; if there is anything in the "next to 
Godliness" business that is not to be found in perfection in this three-story palace 
of purification, it has not yet become known in civilized communities. 

Next in order is the grand dining room — a model of elegance — extending the 
width of the entire building and the length of the main wing, with large windows 
occupying three sides and giving it that bright and cheerful appearance we have 
already noticed in the grand rotunda, and which, we will find before we get through, 

24 





— |Ak>/M^ (5)of^jiAyri<5 



is characteristic of the entire house. We are 
next actually taken into that mystery of mys- 
teries in a hotel — the kitchen — which, like the 
baths, is located in a separate and 
perfectly tire-proof l)uilding — the 
only place about the hotel \yhere 
' fire is ever permitted, except a 
' glowing blacklog in the great fire- 
■ place in the grand rotunda on occa- 
sional chilly evenings. The secrets 
of the great range, the 
warming tables, etc., 
are disclosed to us. but 
we are heedless in our 
admiration of the al)so- 
ute cleanliness on 
every hand. We can- 
not but think that any 
meal from this kitchen 
must be appetizing, 
and later we will try 
one, and find om^ pre- 
judgment correct. 

we stroll back 
le main buikl- 
again. glance at 
e ladies' ordi- 
UcUv. the writing 
.md card rooms, 
and t h e n 
\ come to the 
grand parlor, 
a noble apart- 
ment, w i t h 
ro\ al fm'nish- 
mgs, decora- 
ions and more 
indows. Then 
ere is a smaller 
or f(jr the ladies, 



•>(i 



wliich partakes of the saiiU" ma<4iiitk(.-iKi.- as thf lar'^tr. Tlifii come tlic ;j^ucst 
rooms. \\ e are shown one suite on each t1oor. and iiloat over tlie hanckomelv 
carved oak furniture, the ricli carpets and hangings, the cosy little closets and bath 
rooms, and the many other accessories, which have been provided for the delectation 
of the occupants. We finish the main buildinL;- w ith a trip. \ ia the elevator, to the 
grand observatory at the top of the building — an airv pa\ilion. ^55 bv 65 feet — walled 
with windows from which, apparently, the whole State of Arkansas can be seen, 
and containing chairs for a hundred jieople. What a grand lounging place for 
la/\- ]H'i)]~)le on a hi/\- <Iav I 




another building apart from 
the hotel, but connected with 
it b\ a co\ ereil w.i\ . This 
lianilsome structure is de- 
voted exclusively to the vo- 
taries of Terpsichore and to 
other amusements. The 
^^atiuday night hop at the 
r.nrk is a swell event at Hot 
Springs and the occasion of 
the gathering of the social 
clans (»f all the hotels. 



kKHoT£L 





Y<^ *7-Ss^^ 






30 




Y-r"J(r A BAJri, Pftf\\ 



The New Arlington Hotel. 



IF you are an old timer at the Springs, you will be interested to learn that the 
Arlington as you knew it is a thing of the past, that the old structure has 
been demolished, and that a new, modern, magnificent hotel is to take its 
place, a hotel that will rival in all its features and appointments the luxuriance of 
the Eastman and the Park. All this is promised by the hotel company, and their 
uniform success in the management of the old property is the best possible assurance 
of the fulfillment of their pledges as to the New Arlington. 

The site of the Arlington is unquestionably one of the very best at Hot Spriogs. 
On Central avenue, at the north end of bath house row, it is in the very heart of the 
city, and nearer to the Hot Springs themselves than any other hotel. The Hot 
Springs Mountain, from which all the springs flow, rises immediately behind the 
house to a height of three hundred feet, and the water from what has been consid- 
ered the most efficacious spring for drinking and bathing purposes flows through 
pipes directly into the hotel building. 

The new hotel will have a total frontage on Central avenue and Fountain 
street of 650 feet. The style of the architecture is of the Spanish renaissance^ 
which is admirably adapted to the location and in striking contrast with that of 
other hotel structures in this city. It will be four stories in height, and built 
entirely of brick. The striking features of the front will be a fifteen foot veranda or 
arcade of brick arches, forming a continuous promenade of nearly 600 feet. The 
upper front will be relieved by balconies at suitable points. The two main corners 
of the building are emphasized by handsomely designed towers, twenty feet square, 
that extend thirty or forty feet above the roof, making excellent observatories, and 
adding to the general artistic effect. Special care has been given to the exterior to 
make it thoroughly artistic in proportion and design. 

The interior of the hotel in arrangement, design and finish, will correspond in 
excellence with that of the exterior and will possess a number of features that will 
be marked improvements on others already built. The main floor will be raised 
six feet above the sidewalk line and will be sixteen feet in the clear. The others 
will be of proportionate height. Midway of the Central avenue front will be 
located the large rotunda, 53x86 feet in dimension. This will be the principal 
feature of the interior, and it will be a very striking one. In the rear, directly oppo- 
site the imjDosing entrance, the grand stairway will rise around the sides of a square to 
the floors above, under a circular glass dome, directly beneath the center of which will 
be placed, on the main floor, a fountain, altogether giving a very artistic and attractive 
appearance to this part of the interior. It will further be embellished by massive 

32 



fire-places and mantels, paneled ceiling and fresco work. South of the rotunda is a 
large general parlor, 70x50 feet, which can be used for dancing. North of the 
rotunda is the gents' parlor, general card-room, waiting-room, etc. In addition to 
these, the hotel is provided with billiard-room, bowling alley, barber shop, bar- 
room. Western Union Telegraph office and all the latest conveniences. There will 
be 260 guest-rooms. These will be plastered with acme plastering, and the walls 
beautified by fresco penciling. The arrangement of the building has been such as 
to insure large, light and airv rooms. There are no dark rooms in the house, everv 




The Old Arlington. 

one having outside light and ventilation. A commodious closet will be attached 
to each one, and the principal ones will have private bath, closet and fixed wash 
bowls. The furnishings will be in keeping with other appointments. 

A fine passenger elevator will carry guests from first to fourth floors, and a 
large baggage elevator will insure quick transportation of baggage. 

Ample fire escapes have been provided, by placing at the ends of each hall, 
on everv floor, a large balcony constructed of iron, from which a walk will 
extend to the mountain slope in the rear, and from this the descent to the street can 

83 



be made by walks without a single step. A complete return call system of bells 
and fire alarm will be one of the hotel's appurtenances. 

The surroundings of the hotel will be made as handsome and attractive as skill 
can make them. Broad granitoid sidewalks and lawns will beautify the street front. 
The park and fountain on the north side of the building will be preserved and 
further adorned by a broad driveway extending around same from the porte-cochere , 
which will be at the Central avenue and Fountain street corner. The slope of the 
Hot Springs mountain, back of the hotel, will be laid out in walks and beautified 




The New Arlington. 



with arbors and flower beds, providing a delightful retreat, and making pleasing 
the view from the rooms on that side of the hotel. 

The elegant bathing establishment, which is to be erected on the site of the pres- 
ent New Rector, will be made a part of the hotel, being built by the same company, 
and can be reached from two floors of the hotel, through large, well-lighted and 
ventilated hallways. In external appearance, this will be a beauty in architectural 
design, and the interior arrangement is upon an entirely new, convenient and origi- 
nal plan, embodying features that are pronounced improvements, and making it the 
finest bathing establishment, in every particular, in this city, and second to none in 
the United States. There will be fortv bath-rooms, and in addition there will be 



34 



needle, shower ami electric baths and all other appurtenances necessary to make it 
complete. The bathing department proper is an iinmense circle from which the 
bath rooms radiate on both floors. The series of cooling rooms or parlors, at 
different temperatures, are located in convenient proximity. Perfect light and 
ventilation are provided by a central light shaft, extending from the first floor to the 
roof, and terminating in a large glass dome with pivoted side lights. This insures 
direct light and ventilation to every bath room in the house. The walls and 
partitions of the bath rooms will be of marble, and the floors laid with Mosaic 
tile. 

A steam heating and electric light plant of its own, will furnish heat and light 
for the entire hotel and bath house. 

The observatory tower of the New Arlington cannot fail to be one of its most 
popular features. From the summit one will find spread out before him the most 
charming panorama imaginable. Directly opposite is the towering West Mountain, 
whose lofty heights are soon to be converted into a delightful park, with winding 
drives and foot-paths, fountains and flowers, and which even now is a wild, though 
somewhat rugged, wilderness, plentiful with attractions for the sturdy climber and 
explorer. Looking to the south. Central avenue stretches away until it loses itself 
in the pines of the Ouachita Valley, miles distant, lined on the one hand with the bath 
houses and on the other with the busy retail stores, whilst the broad roadway is gay 
with carriages and pedestrians. The towers of the Eastman, and the big cupola of 
the Park add picturesqueness to the scene, and the many other structures of vary- 
ing size and architecture, combine to form a picture, the like of which is not to be 
found elsewhere on earth. To the north, Central avenue divides into Whittington 
and Park, almost at your feet, the former winding around West Mountain towards 
the setting sun, while the latter disappears among the hills to the eastward. In this 
direction the horizon is soon hemmed in by the mountains, but the view^ is never- 
theless charming. At your back is the Hot Springs Mountain and the Government 
Park, while from the very portc-cochcre of the hotel you can trace the beautiful 
Gorge of Happy Hollow, with its throngs of pedestrians, its crowds of merry 
laughing children, its donkey parties, its photograph galleries, and all its other 
'•happy" accompaniments. 

The New Arlington will continue under the management of S. H. Stitt & Co., 
who have done so much in the past to make the old hotel attractive and popular 
with patrons, and this management will be hailed as a guarantee of the prosperity 
and success of the new enterprise. Mr. Lyman T. Hay will occupy the position 
of manager, as during the past season, when he proved so popular a host, and will 
gather about him the best and most efiicient corps of assistants to be found in the 
country. 

35 



©thert Metel ^CGemmedatiens. 

3^C ^ >f ^ 3]C 

/S)S before indicated, the visitor to Hot Springs is never at a loss to find a lodging 
J^ place suited alike to his tastes and his pocket-hook. Besides the three large 
hotels already described, and which are more especially patronized by the wealthier 
class of pleasure seekers and invalids, there are a dozen or more first-class hostelries 
at which lower rates prevail, and four or five hundred boarding houses. Of the 
hotels, among the best known are the Hotel Hay, the Pullman, the Avenue, the 
Waverly, the Hotel Worrell, the Josephine, the Humpter, the Plateau and the Grand. 

The more pretentious boarding houses assume names — ^the Albion, the Burling- 
ton, Tavlor's, Magnolia \"illa. Haynes Villa, for example. These houses are hand- 
somelv furnished, conveniently located, with pleasant surroundings, and are well 
patronized, as their excellent conduct deserves. Following the descending scale of 
prices, come the numerous lodging houses, whose only name is the invariable 
"elegantlv furnished rooms for rent, with board," and last come the furnished 
rooms, nearly every house in the city, even to the humblest cabin, having '-a vacant 
room" somewhere about the premises. 

There is no good reason why the food served at any of the boarding houses 
should not be nourishing and of agreeable variety, and it is a commendable fact 
that in this respect Hot Springs enjoys an enviable reputation. A branch establish- 
ment of the Armour Dressed Beef Company furnishes good fresh meats in abun- 
dance and at as low prices as prevail anywhere. The recent development of 
Arkansas as a successful small fruit region, places these palatable and necessary 
adjuncts to a good table within reach of all, while there are numerous vegetable 
farms about the city, which contribute their quota to the gastronomic entertainment 
of visitors. The milk and butler are unusually good, there being several dairies, 
equipped with fine Jersey cows. 

The fact that so many hotels and boarding houses of such diversified character 
exist and apparentlv flourish at Hot Springs, is in itself evidence, both of the enor- 
mous number of people who come hither in search of health, and also that no 
condition of wealth, or lack of the same, is a bar to the enjoyment of the beneficial 
effects resultant upon a use of the waters and baths. The water of the springs is 
thoroughlv democratic. 

Several of the most popular hotels and boarding houses are described in detail in 
the ensuing pages. Lack of space forbids special mention of all, but those named 
herein may be taken as fair examples of the rest. It is, perhaps, well to suggest that 
convenience to one's physician and to the bath house selected by the visitor is 
deserving of consideration in making a choice, as well as price to be paid and 
character of the accommodations. 

37 



Tl^c Hotel Hay, a cut of which 

is given herewith, has seventy-five guest 
rooms, with a capacity for i30 guests. 
Many of the rooms are en suite, making 
them desirable for families, and all are 
elegantly furnished and appointed with 
Brussels carpets, 
marble-topped 
mahogany and 
walnut chamber 
sets and ward- 
robes, the beds 
having curled 
hair mattresses on 
wire springs. The 
halls are spacious 
and well lighted, 
with high ceilings 
— each story 
being twelve feet 
high. The hotel 
is centrally lo- 
cated, within two 
blocks of Bath House 
Row, is heated by steam, 
has a passenger elevator 
is lighted both by gas and elec- P 
tricity. A fine spring of chalybeate "'^^ 
and magnesia water flows du-ectly into the 
hotel and has been found very efficacious in 
troubles of the stomach, bowels, liver, kidney 
and urinary organs. The rates are from $2.50 
per day, or $11 per week, upwards, and the 
service is unexceptional in every respect. 



Hot Springs. The rooms are large, airy 
and well lighted and handsomely fur- 
nished throughout, and the table is fur- 
nished with the best the market affords. A 
cafe for ladies and gentlemen is one of the 
attractive features of this popular house. 




Tlie Hotel Worrell 

is also a finely ap- 
pointed family hotel 
of the highest rank, 
located but one 
block from the East- 
man and convenient 
to the depot, post- 
office and principal 
stores. Its patrons 
are of the best so- 
cial class, and 



they all 
speak 



in the 

most 

complimen- 

tai\ teims of the 

excellence of this 

popular house. 



Tl^^ PallH^ar^ is a fine brick 
structure located on Central avenue directly 
opposite the center of Bath House Row, and, 
for convenience of location, is not excelled at 




-- \\of^'^°\^ 



£i— ' 



38 



Yl^C c^VepOC Hotel is a large, ' equipped. The bath rooms are exclusive- 
handsome structure, located on Park ly for the use of guests and are in the hotel 



avenue near its junction witli Central 
avenue. The liouse has recentlv been 




building, with a private hallway from the 
elevator landing to the ladies' bath rooms. 
Bridges connect each floor with the 
mountain in tlie rear, affording easy egress 
in case of fire, and the stand pipes and 
fire hose, which can be operated in- 
stantlv, make the hotel absolutely safe. 



enlarged and 
improved 
throughout, 
audit is one of 
the best fur- ^ 

nished at '' >'? 

.<jV).'- 

Hot Springs, ;■"; 

every ^^1^^^:, 
room ^fe^ 

having jhe Plateai 
marble 



T^t^e Plateail, as its name implies, 
occupies an elevated position on Central 
avenue and commands a fine 
view of the valley, surround- 
ing country and mountains. 
It is comparatively new, and 
:, neither pains nor money 
■ have been spared to make 
it thoroughly comfortable 
and convenient. The ven- 
ition and drainage are 
perfect; it is furnished 
with elevator, electric 
)ells and lights, au- 
tomatic fire alarms 
in each room, and 
I tlie service is first- 
I class. The location 
is central, and es- 
peciallv so for com- 
mercial men, as the 
heaviest business 
houses are within two 
ocks of the house, 
ates are $12 to $20 per 
week, according to location of rooms, 



topped furniture, dressing 

cases, wardrobes, etc. A new Hale hy 

draulic elevator, gas and electric lights, the hotel being open the entire year, 

electric bells in each room, a Western ; and rates being lower during summer 

Union telegraph ofike, are among the | and fall than during the winter and 

manyconveniences with which the hotel is 1 spring. 



39 







is one of the very best 
of the smaller hotels, 
and is noted for the 
high standard of excel- 
lence maintained in all 
departments by its 
management. It is an 
attractive appearing 
house, with numerous 
verandas, good sized 
and richly furnished 
rooms, and is located 
on Park avenue but a 
short distance above 
the head of Central 
avenue. All the mod- 
ern conveniences — passenger eleva- 
tor, electric lights, electric bells, 
etc., are provided, and the service is 
unusually good. The Waverly is 
essentially a family hotel, and caters 
only to the very best class of people. 
The table is one of the best in the 
city, and well supplied at all times 
with seasonable delicacies. Closed 
carriages are placed at the dis- 
posal of guests free of charge, for conveyance to and from the bath houses, which 
are located about two ordinary city blocks from the hotel. 



Ho U3Er 



^l\e Siin^pter H^^SC has been so thoroughly changed by additions, 
alterations and rebuilding, that its old friends and patrons would scarcely recognize 
it. It has been newly furnished throughout, and is now one of the best houses at 
Hot Springs. Some of the rooms in the new extension are equal to anything to be 
found in the city. Its location on Exchange street, within 200 feet of Central avenue, 
makes it most desirable for visitors who prefer to be where they are convenient to 
the baths and the main business part of the city. 



40 







41 



The Hotel Josephine is situated at Whittington avenue and Cedar street — one 
of the best locations in the city — is a new house, with sixty rooms newly furnished 
throughout, and accommodates about one hundred people, its guests being largely 
composed of families. The house is kept so nicely and everything about the prem- 
ises is so neat and tidy, that it is frequently known as "The Band-Box House." 

The Albion, Magnolia Villa, Taylor's, Haynes Villa, and many others, may 
all be classed as family hotels of the better class. After them come the boarding 
houses, of all sorts and conditions, and as numerous as leaves in Vallambrosa. Hot 
Springs is the ne plus ultra of the bodrding house keeper, and the native population 
seems to be largely made up of this ubiquitous class. Nearly every house in the 
town bears some legend, often grotesque as to both orthography and the formation 
of the letters, announcing "One furnished room to let," "Boarders wanted," etc., 
etc. One sign, at the foot of a rugged mountain Avhich even the nimble goat would 
find troublesome climbing, announces, "One furnished room to let with cook- 
ing up hill," a variety of the culinary art that is doubtless indigenous to Hot 
Springs. 

Speaking of signs, those seekers for the curious who delight in hunting up 
inscriptions, ill-writ, mis-spelt, ludicrous and startling, will find a prolific source of 
amusement in the signs at the Springs. One rather comprehensive merchant in the 
suburbs advertises "Sausiges sold hear; also Cigars, Ice Cream and Drug Store." 
Another affects the alliterative, after the following sibilant style : "Sweet Sider, five 
sents a skooner." Another has "Oranges, pea nuts, summer drinks and Book store." 
A necromancer on Malvern avenue announces "Fortunes told hear, past and futher" 
— an unique future as far as the sign is concerned, surely. 

The rebus is a favorite form of sign advertising. The ark, can and saw are to 
be seen everywhere, even on the handles of souvenir spoons. One of the leading 
jewelry stores is known as "The Can," and is decorated with an immense teapot. 
It might be as well to say here that the can is the utensil most in use at Hot Springs, 
and on a pleasant morning one may see a thousand people on Central avenue, bear- 
ing tin teapots either filled or about to be filled with hot water. 

I must not forget one pictorial sign nailed to a tree beside one of the carriage 
roads. It has on one end a picture of a winged man, clad in a crown and a night 
gown, who is soaring through a Prussian blue sky, with a satisfied smile on his face 
and this inscription beneath his feet: "This man took Carter's Compound Cure." 
On the other end is a harrowing depiction of a man writhing in a huge pot of flames, 
while his Satanic Majesty prods him vigorously with a pitchfork. Here the legend 
informs you that the sufferer did 7iot take Carter's Compound Cure. Mr. Carter 
has evidently discovered an excellent post-?norte?n remedy. 

42 



JY)e 5P''if)<$s ai^d Jf^eir properties. 



^T HE hot springs, the loadstone which has drawn together these thousands of 
-^ people from all parts of the world, are seventy-one in number, with a tem- 
perature ranging from 76^ to 157" Fahrenheit, and a How of half a million gallons 
daily. The cause of their marvelous medicinal effect is still a mooted question 
among physicians and chemists. Careful analysis by eminent specialists show that, 
on an average, the waters contain 13.94 grains of material in solution to the gallon. 
Of this material, nearly sixty per cent is carbonate of lime, over twcntv-one per cent 
is silica, nine per cent is carbonate of magnesia, while the remainder is chietly 
chloride of sodium (common salt), sulphate of soda (Glauber salt), and sulphate 
of potash. This is but a slight proportion of minerals, in fact, no more than is to 
be found in many springs and well waters used for domestic purposes. It is, there- 
fore, an accepted theory with most practitioners that the wonderful virtue of the waters 
lies in their natural heat, which seems to possess peculiar, perhaps magnetic qualities, 
not characteristic of those of other warm springs, or of waters artiHciallv heated. 

Dr. William Elderhorst 
has this to say regarding the 
curative qualities of the 
water: "In many forms of 
chronic diseases, especially, 
its effects are truly astonish- 
ing. The copious diaphoresis 
(perspiration) which the hot 




'nc^s^^' 






bath establishes, opens in 
itself a main channel for 
the expulsion of princi- 
ples injurious to health. 



'*iii^F-, 



V-r 









made manifest by its peculiar odor. A similar effect, in a diminished degree, is 
effected by drinking hot water — a common, indeed, almost universal practice 
among invalids at the Hot Springs. 

"The impression produced by the hot douche, also, is indeed powerful, arous- 
ing into action sluggish and torpid secretions ; the languid circulation is thus purified 
of morbific matters, and thereby renewed vigor and healthful action are given both 
to the absorbents, lymphatics, and to the excretory apparatus — a combined effect 
which no medicine is capable of accomplishing. 

"The large quan- 
titv of free carbonic 
acid which the water 
contains, and which 
rises in vol u m e s 
through the 
water at 
the foun- •^a^H^^TS '^^^^.^^ 




The moon was now, fronn Heaven's steep, 

Bending to dip her silver urn 

Of light into the silent deep ; 

And the young nynnphs on their return 

Fronn those romantic glens, found 

J. Their other playmates, ranged around 

tarn of many oi j^^ sacred spring, prepared to tune 

the sprino-s, has Their parting hymn, ere sunk the moon, 

, 1 , 11 To that fair fountain, by whose stream, 

undoubtedly an ex- jy^^-^ ^^^^g ^^^ ^^^^.^ ^^ ^^^^ 

hilarating effect on the a dream. 

system, and it is, no doubt 

from the water of the Hot 

Springs coming to the surface charged with this gas, that invalids are enabled 

to drink it freely at a temperature at which ordinary water, from which all the gas 

has been expelled by ebullition, would act as an emetic." 

All of the Hot Springs, with one exception, flow from the Hot Springs Moun- 
tam, on the east side of Central avenue. Formerly, the hot water, with its accom- 
panying clouds of vapor, could be seen issuing from the ground ; but it is now, for 
the sake of economy and cleanliness, piped from the various springs to a common 
reservoir, whence it is distributed to the different bath houses. This collection and 



44 



distribution is done under the direct supervision of a Superintendent appointed by 
the United States s^overnnient. 

The problem of a lodtj^iny- place is an easv one for the visitor to Hot Springs to 
solve, as he can choose from upwards of five hunched hotels and l)oardinii; houses, 
ranging, as far as expense is concerned, from $5.00 a week to $3.00, $4.00 and 
$5.00 a dav. or even more, if desired, the convenience and comfort of the accom- 
modations corresponding, of course, to tlie difference in rates. The following 
statement from the report for 1891 of the Superintendent of the reservation, to the 
Secretary of the Interior, will give a good idea of the necessary expenses to be 
incurred while at Hot Springs: 

Boardin<j and lodging, per month $16 to $150 

Physician's fees, per month 20 to 30 

Medicines (if needed), j)er month 5 to 15 

Bathing, per month 5 to 10 

Bath servants (if needed), per month 3 to 5 

Total, per month $49 to $210 

These figures represent the highest and the lowest, though some can get along with 
less and others manage to spend more ; but these give a general idea. The regular 
fees of physicians are $^ for first examination, with bathing directions, and $25 
per month for office practice (two or three consultations per week). Higher charges 
are only made where extra attention is required, and visits inade at the hotels. 



'J\)e Batt? jHouses. 



At this writing there are fifteen liath houses in operation, liesides the free bath 

house operated by the government. The names of tliese batli houses, and the tub 

capacitv of each, is as follows: 

Alhambra 40 tubs. Eastman 4° tubs. 

New Rector 40 " Park 40 " 

Lamar 40 " Horse Shoe 3° " 

Magnesia 30 " Palace 23 •• 

Ozark 22 '• Independent 21 '* 

Avenue 20 '• Rockafeilow 20 *• 

Rammelsberg 18 '• Superior 16 •' 

Hot Springs 12 " Free hath Pools. 

Of these, the Eastman. Park. Xew Rector and Alhambra are magnificent 
structures, superbly decorated and apptunted, and equipped with every convenience 
and improvement. The other houses are all in good condition, many alterations 
and betterments having been made recently, notably liy the Independent and the 

45 



r^^'^f"^-^^ 



Rammelsberg. The Central, one of the oldest houses, is closed, at least tem- 
porarily, and the Big Iron and Old Hale have been destroyed. The Big Iron owners, 
however, are contemplating the rebuilding of that house on an elaborate scale. 

The prices for baths range from twenty cents to sixty cents (the maximum fixed 
by law) for single baths, and from $3 to $8 for a course of twenty-one baths. 
Attendants are not allowed to collect in excess of fifteen cents per bath or $3 per 

course toi their services. 

The free bath house is the resort of the 
impecunious, no charge whatever being 
made either for the use of 
the water or the attendance. 
It contains two large pools — 
one for males, the 
otherfor females — 
and the records 
show that the aver- 
age patronage is 
650 inen and 250 
women daily. The pools are emptied and 
thoroughly cleansed twice dailv, and while in 
use the water is constantly running into and 
out of them. 

The hot water is distributed entirely 
under the supervision of the government. It 
is first collected from all the springs into a 
common reservoir and thence is pumped 

through pipes 
to the different 
bath houses. 
The pumping 
station is in a 
handsome brick 
building at the 
south end of Bath 
House Row. 




1- Central BafH House- 
^•Alhambra Bath House- 



3-Neu; Hot5pnnQ5 Bath house- 
4Roc[^ajellouLf5 Bath House- 



^ 



40 



Jl^e Qity of \\ot SpnT)<^$. 




AME Nature planned the City of Hot .Sprine^s after her own unique 
, . methods. She phinted fountains of livin<^ waters in the hills, and made 
them her engineers. With the mighty power of persistent gentleness she 
chiseled out the avenues from the stul)l)orn flint and jasper, and shaped the contour 
of the coming town. With her invariable abhorrence of straight lines and right 
angles, she wound her streets in sinuous sweeps around the bases of the mountains, 
made tortuous paths to their summits for the horseback rider and pedestrian, shaded 
hill and valley alike with her noldest and choicest forest trees, provided suitable 
sites for hotels, business houses, resi- 
dences and bath houses, arranged with the 
lower regions for the necessary 
privileges, and turned 




^K>«ar*p H<TSmN^ idM 



47 




1* View r]ear1\aGe7pacl^. 
<3''Near Gemeteiu 



on the hot water. Man and the United States government have done the rest. 
They have been pegging away at it for sixty years, and the result is the present 
thriving, picturesque city of 15,000 souls, with its magnificent hotels, busy banks 
and stores, costly churches and fine residences. 

It will be seen from the accompanying cut that there is little regularity about the 
streets and avenues. The main thoroughfares follow the courses of the streams 

48 



between the mountains, Central avenue, 
the principal business street being a nar- 
row valley running north and south be- 
tween the Hot Springs and West moun- 
tains. This was formerl 
of Hot Springs 
Creek and was 
filled with huge 
boulders which, with 
the wanton course of 
the stream, made the 
valley well-nigh impass 
able. The government 
work of confining the creek 
to a tunnel or undergrounc 
passage, clearing the v 
and constructing a 
broad well-paved 
street above, was 
an e n g i n e e r i n g 
feat of no 
small propor- 
tions. It was 
made neces- 
sary, however, 
before the 
bath houses 
could be con- 
structed 
or a busi- ' 
ness street 
established 

On Central avenue 
catedallof the bath liouse 
the Park, and nearly : 
hotels and business house 
The hotels are mostlv at 
of the avenue, except thos 
few vears, and the business 
toward the lower end and 
No. I 



to the larger valley. Of late years, the 

avenue having been more closely built 

some of the busi- 




entrance 

QkandOp^ka M0(J5E. 
49 



No. 2. Pc^r CrncE. 



east side of Central avenue, near the 
heart of the city, in front of Hot 
Springs Mountain, from which they are 
supplied with the 
thermal waters. 

The Post Office 
building is a finely 



to the hotels and stores. The Opera 
House is also on Central avenue, near 
the north end, and is a handsome brick 
building ; completely equipped 
in a theatrical sense, and occu- 
pied during the season by the best 
opera and dramatic companies. 
ff) The business part of the city 







i. Gaines Block 

2 GOULD Block 

3BU&INE56 MENS Clubs-Masonic 

4.LEDWIDCrE BLOCK- TEMPLE- 

5.CLAYT0N BLOCK 

6 [METROPOLITAN BLOCK 




appearing brick structure of three stories, 
located on Central avenue, convenient 



is of a substantial and permanent 
character and shows decided improve- 



50 



ment in the past two or three years. Several solid business blocks have recently 
been, and are now being erected, and still greater changes may be looked for in the 
near future. Stores and shops are well stocked with evervthing calculated to 
contribute to the material well-being and happiness of visitors and residents. 
Everything sold elsewhere can be obtained, and some things that are 
not — namely, Hot Springs diamonds made from cjuartz crystals, agates, and other 
beautiful stones found in the vicinity and fashioned into manv curious and useful 
shapes, and articles by local lapidaries. 

No city in the land can boast of a retail row, that, for attractiveness, variety 
and oddity, can compare with the business side of Central avenue. As a charming 
young Miss at the Eastman put it, ''It's better than going to the circus." Jewelry 
stores, book stores, dry goods stores, saloons, drug stores, pool rooms, restaurants, 
furnishing goods stores, grocery stores, more jewelry stores, doctors' offices, more 
drug stores, shooting galleries., more saloons, and so on and so forth — each with a 
distinct picturesqueness of its own — until one almost wearies of the endless, and. in 
many cases, striking contrasts. Still, this is Hot Springs, and no one would 
have it otherwise. It would rob the city of half its charm to change 
Central avenue into a row of stiff, formal l)rick blocks with staring plate-glass 
windows. 

There are three substantial banks in the citv, three daily papers, and the little 
folks are provided with an excellent school svstem. 

Street railway facilities are remarkably good, there being nearly eight miles 
now in operation, connecting all avenues and sections of the city via Central avenue. 
The rolling stock is new and the cars will compare favorably with those in use in 
larger cities. A street car line from the Arlington up Happy Hollow is the latest 
improvement in this direction. While mules are at present the motive power, it is 
contemplated that a change to electricitv will be made in the near future. 

Hot .Springs enjoys an excellent supply of pure water for drinking purposes 
and domestic uses, and it is furnished in such volume as to be of effective use in 
case of fire. 

A clear mountain stream, fed bv huge springs, about two miles nortli of the 
city, was made to form a lake half a mile or more long by means of a dam of solid 
masonry, thirty-eight feet high, extending from mountain to mountain. From the 
lake this water is forced into an immense reservoir on the summit of the mountain, 
250 feet above the streets of the city. This head gives so great a pressure that a 
stream from the largest hose can be thrown over the highest buildings without the 
aid of fire engines. This improvement cost the city over $150,000. and is capable 
of furnishing 2.250,000 gallons daily. The fire department is well organized and 
equipped with all necessary paraphernalia, and shows, when occasion requires, 
that it is fullv prepared to fight the fire fiend successfully. 

51 




rvcl 'R^6'="'V0JP 



1 CATHOUCChURCH- 
S. MfCtlURCn SOUTH- 

3FIR.6T Baptist CtiuR-Oi 

4PRE6ByTERlArs CtlURCl 
5 • 5t LU f^E'S (H U R Ch, EPISCOPAL 

6Col/^ ECmuroi 
rURSULiNE Convent 
5-5vN^q-o<Eru& i 




The citv is well supplied with churches, nearly all the leading denominations 
being represented, and all in a flourishing condition. Some of the church buildings 
are handsome specimens of architecture, St. Luke's Episcopal, on Rector street, 
directly opposite the Eastman, being the most pretentious. The large stained glass 
window in this church is one of the handsomest in the West, and the entire structure is a 
model of neatness and beauty. 

53 







^ 



The choice residence portions of the city are on Park and Whittington avenues, 
though there are many handsome homes in the southern section, especially on Mal- 
vern and South Central avenues, and the Government has erected expensive and 
beautiful houses on the reservation for the superintendent and surgeon in charge of 
the Government hospital. As Park and Whittington avenues lie at the bottom of 



54 




valleys with lofty mountains on either side, the residences are necessarily built on 
sloping ground. The mountain sides are thickly wooded, and the effect of a cozy 
cottage or mansion nestled among the native forest trees, far above the street level, 
with grassy terraces leading down to the entrance gate, is both unique and pictur- 
esque. Many of the residences of Hot Springs 
will compare favorably, in elegance and beautiful 
surroundings, with those of larger , 
cities, and are pleas- 
ing evidences of the 

wealth and refine- ^^__„^__„ ™™i=. ,^.^__i™i». 

ment which have lt^ll^Mi^MM'»WHK«l^mM»i=^^^-' m Mi^ 

found their way 
to this city of 
the O z a r k s . 
The accom- ^ 
panying series 
of cuts give one a fair 
idea of the homes of 
Hot Springs, a feature 
of which every resident 
is justly proud. 

A number of north- 
ern people, appreciat- 
ing the advantages of 
living under one's own 
vine and fig tree while 
at Hot Springs, have 
purchased lots and 
erected cottages, 
which they occupy 
during the 
season. 
This plan 
has met 
with great 
favor, and 
thepioneers 
have many 
imitators 
from all 





parts of the country. The sanitary conditions for a residence at the Springs are 
absolutely perfect. The drainage system could not be improved upon ; the atmos- 
phere is healthful and bracing, and the water pure and wholesome. As stated else- 



56 



where, the markets are as well supplied, and the prices of meats, vegetables and 
groceries as reasonable as can be found anywhere. There are good schools for the 
children, good churches, plenty of amusements, excellent mail, express and tele- 
graphic facilities, and emphatically no lack of medical attention or drug stores. 
The retail stores are of all kinds, and any article of personal use, comfort or 
luxury can be purchased. 

In regard to the healthfulness of Hot Springs, a most important consideration 

to one con- 
templating a 
r e side n ce 
tliere, gov- 
ernment sta- 
tistics show 
that out of 
I total of 
S6 ci t i e s 
and towns in 
the United 
States, onlv fi\L have as low 
death lates as Hot Springs. 
Theie is onh one city in British 
Ainenca having one as 
low , and none at all in 
England or 
Central Eu- 
lope. The 
(leatli rate 
) e r one 
t h o u s a n d 
inhabitants 
in 1SS9 was 
7.74 at Hot 
Springs. 
When it is 
laken into 
considera- 
tion that a large percent- 
age of the citizens of 
Hot Springs went there 
afflicted with disease, 




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. tH^^^^BH^^H^C^^HHI^MES?: 


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^ .^ ^^ '^9^M(MSF!^»^9n9H 


iflp t' y^l^^^i^d 


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V\^^KS^i!y^!^^'i^ 


zjj^j^Sm^^ 


t^^^^^^vc^-' \k^ " 


- ^■"' . A'-. ',^; '.-^^^ 


y^^"^ yj^. 


I ^'^ ■',')'" . 



1. Major G. G. Latta's Residence. 

2. Dr. E. C, Ellis' Residence. 

3. Dr. Pollard's Residence. 

4 Dr. Passnnore's Residence. 

5. Entrance to Dr. Passmore's Res. 



and, being cured, have since made it their home, 
this percentage seems all the more remarkable. 
In connection with the 
great healing powers of 
the springs it is almost 
miraculous. The two go 
hand in hand, and it would 
seem as if Nature had left 
nothing undone to make 
this the great sani- 
tarium and retreat to 




1. Major Game s Res. 

2. Dr. Greenaway's Res. 



ward off disease and prolong life. 
The death rate previously quoted 
applies only to the permanent resi- 
dents of Hot Springs, numbering 
some eighteen or twenty thousand. 
The rate among the fifty thousand 
annual visitors is very small, 




1 Judge Kimball s Res dence. 

2 Dr Garnett s Residence 

3 Dr William s Res dence 

4. Dr. Ellesworth's Residence. 

beingonly a little more than one and 
one-tenthper cent, and in nearly all 
instances of death among visitors, 
the disease causing the same had 
reached such an advanced stage that 
recovery, even under the most favor- 
able conditions, and with the best 
medical attention, was an utter im- 
possibility. 



|iappy \\o\\o\jj. 




©.VERYONE who 
^ visits Hot Springs, 
quickly succumbs to 
the charms of Happy 
Hollow, and becomes 
its faithful admirer. A 
pleasant valley it is, in- 
deed, and the favorite 
resort of pedestrians, 
though a street car line 
has recently invaded the 
picturesque glen; much 



We.T<S^;t4 



to the disgust of 
many who consider 
the new-comer an 
unwarranted en- 
croachment upon 
their pet prome- 
nade. Happy Hol- 
low has, in a gen- 
eral way, been so 
happily and graph- 
ically described by 
Mr. Wm. L. field- 
ing that his descrip- 
tion is herewith in- 
serted. He says : 




Clovzpr\rr^tr\\ Re^ervalior^ Office 
60 




"This is a dell that 
nation of the Greeks wou 
populated with all sorts o: 
human beings. It wou 
been a kingdom for fairies 
favorite haunt for nym 
dryads^ and might ha 
a trysting place for tl 
and goddesses 
themselves. 

"The place is 
neither a gorge 
nor valley, but a 
quiet and peace- 
inspiring glen. A 
narrow roadway 
hewn from the 
side of the moun- 
tain, which dis- 
putes possession ^ ^^^k^^-^<i,iimmiiiyy-^y^^^^^ 

of the bottom of the dell -^^ ^^^1 ^^^^^^-f-Ti^ 

with a creek. And a most 

delightful road it is, with 

the mountains thrusting 

their feet down from either 

side and nearly crushing 

you beneath the rocks, and 

rising gracefully to the 

height of three or four 

hundred feet, their sides 

covered with huge rocks 

,,,,.,. . , Scenes in Happy Hollow. 

and tall sighmg pmes and 

oaks, which, in the autumn, form a most beautiful picture in yellow and emerald. 

The foot path is excellent, the dell is cool, and there is a new charm at every step. 

"At the terminus of the carriage road is located the celebrated Happy Hollow 

Spring. It is not hot water that boils up in the unique little summer house that 

has been built over the spring, but, notwithstanding that, it is a mineral water of 

high grade and possessed of great medicinal virtue. It is used solely for drinking 

61 




purposes and in connection with the hot baths. Dyspepsia and indigestion have no 
show whatever when brought into contact with Happy Hollow water. It drowns 
rheumatism and gout, and, as it acts directly on the liver and kidneys, it purifies the 
blood, producing a beautiful complexion, and is almost a specific in all diseases 
of the urinary organs. It is visited by great nvimbers daily who come to drink the 
water. Beyond the spring the road ceases, the glen becomes steep and the path is 
blocked and turned 
from side to side 
by huge boulders 
and the jagged, 
projecting edges 
of the mountain. 
At times it is al- 
most impassable, 
and the explorer 
would like to give 
up and turn back, 
were it not that he 
desires to pursue 
the rocky way to 
the end and see 
where it com- 
mences or termi- 
nates." 

Mr. Beld- 
ing's explorer 
should not be 
discouraged. 
If he persists 
in pursuing 
the "rocky 
way," he will 
be amply re- 
warded for his 
climb, as the 
path leads 
him to the 
summit of Hot 
Springs moun- 
tain, with its 




62 



picturesque walks, grand views, beetling 
cliffs and magnificent forest. The walk 
along the crest of the mountain to and 
down the Grand Boulevard to the Gov- 
ernment hospital, is one of the greatest 
attractions at the Springs, 
and should not be over- 
looked by anyone. 

Happy Hollow is the lair 
of the Hot Springs burro, a 
large drove of these inter- 
esting little brutes 
being kept on hand 
for the use of pleas- 
ure parties. On their 
backs the intricacies 



of the upper glens may be readily ex- 
plored, and, while one does not present 
a very imposing appearance mounted 
upon the diminutive animals, they are a 
source of constant enjoyment, not to say 
of uproarious 
hilarity. 

The photog- 
rapher of Happy 
Hollow reaps a 
rich harvest from 
these donkey 
parties, who send 
thousands of pic- 
tures of their 
mounts to the 
folks at Jiome. 




'S^ 



63 




OT SPRINGS is a paradise for the equestrian. To every point of the com- 
pass, beautiful shaded roads and bridle paths meander away over mountain 
and plain, through wooded dells, and across sparkling streams. No 
American resort can boast of so many charming drives or of such infinite variety. 
One can take a different route every day for a month and not exhaust the repertory, 
and find each day some new and unexpected charm. A map will be found inserted 
at the back of this book, showing the location of the various roads and trails, and 
by its use and guidance the entire rugged and picturesque vicinity may be explored 
and enjoyed. The numerous mineral springs and creeks are also located on this map. 

The horses to be hired at the Springs are of unusual excellence, and a source of 
agreeable surprise to the visitor, They are mostly Kentucky stock, highly bred and 
especially trained for horseback riding, gentle, sure-footed, speedy and of easy gait. 

One of the most delightful drives is out Park avenue. The beginner will find 
the ride around North Mountain, through the gorge and returning by the railroad 
depot, one of sufficient length and beauty, to start with, and also to warrant an invest- 
ment in Pond's Extract or some other alleviator of soreness upon r-^^ vt,-,- 
his return, 
two miles out 
spring of ck 

with iron, and some eight feet in diameter, gushes out 
of the bank in a stream the size of a brook, and 
tumbles in a miniature cascade into the branch of the 
Gulpha that murmurs alongside. The water has many ')ipK^W^ 
virtues, and is considered extiemely beneficial by the iff^" 
thousands who use it. The 
spring is in a charming little 
valley, surrovmded by giant 
oaks and other trees, and is a 
delightful retreat on a warm 
afternoon. Across the road on 
the hill-top is a long rambling 
one-story structure, formerly 
used as a hotel, which lends 
novelty to the scene ; and as the 
visitor looks, a little black- 
eyed, bare-footed nymph, 
glass in hand, darts from the 




64 



door, and, dancing across the valley to 
the spring, stands ready to serve the 
water to the thirsty equestrian. A little 
farther on the road forks, the one on tl]e 
right leading through a fertile valley, 
across the south fork of Saline river, on 
to Little Rock, while the one on the left 
winds around the mountains and through 
the forests to Mountain Valley, a popu- 
lar health resort, of which more will be 
said later on. 

Another charming drive for an 
atternoon, is around Sugar Loaf and 
West Mountains, going out Whittington 
avenue, climbing and descending the 
mountain by a tortuous road, which at 
every turn displays some new and mag- 
nificent view of valley and distant 
mountain range, thence to and across 
Bull Bayou, down 
the west bank of 
this beautiful 
stream, to 




the Bear Mountain road, and thence 
back to the city. The ride to the 
Ouachita by any one of half a dozen 
roads is always a pleasant one, as is that 
to Gillen's White Sulphur Spring and to 
Potash-Sulphur Springs, described fur- 
ther along. 

Horseback parties are extremely 
popular, and any pleasant afternoon 
squads of both sexes may be seen dash- 
ing off to the mountains, to return at 
dusk, with faces all aglow with health 
and with magnificent appetites for 
dinner. 

Qarria(^(^ Driu(^3. 

While the country roads, with a few 
exceptions, are a little rough for carriage 
driving, the drives around the city are 
good and in sufficient number and 
variety. Most of the streets and 
avenues are macadamized, and im- 
provement in this direction is going 
on constantlv- It is understood that 
a good portion of the $74,000 real- 
ized at the recent sale of govern- 
meit lots will be devoted to the 
constrii ^tion of boulevards and car- 
riage roads. As it is, the boulevard on 
Whittington avenue, the Grand 
Boulevard, the road to Potash- 
.. Sulphur Springs, Park, JMalvern 
and Central avenues, and the Dal- 
las and Arkadelphia roads, afford 
all needed facilities. 

Any kind of a vehicle 
can be hired, from the 
most elegant landau 
down to the buck-board. 



pota$l7-Sulpl7ijr Sprii7(5$. 



STr' SHORT mile from Lawrence station, and seven miles from Hot Springs, 
^^ are located the health-giving Potash-Sulphur Springs. Ten trains pass 

^•^^ Lawrence daily, and are met by hacks, which convev visitors to and from 
the springs. A favorite way of reaching them from Hot Springs is on horseback, 
the ride being one of the most picturesque in the country. A handsome two-story 
hotel, elegantly furnished, and numerous cottages afford the best of accommodations 
to guests, and the table compares favorably in excellence with the leading hotels of 
Hot Springs. The air at Potash-Sulphur is at all times pure and balmy, while 
surrounding mountains and valleys afford picturesque scenerv, and charming walks 
and drives. Deer, wild turkey, quail and other game afford good shooting, and 
the Ouachita river, one mile distant, furnishes abundant sport for the angler. 

The springs, which are near the hotel, are five in number, but all possessing 
similar properties. The waters are sulphureted alkaline, and are highly esteemed 
by the medical fraternity of Hot Springs, who send many of their patients there to 
spend a few days while resting, after taking a course of hot baths — and alwavs with 
beneficial results. 

Dr. John C. Branner, State Geologist of Arkansas, who has made a careful 
examination of the mineral characteristics of these waters, says of them : 

" The importance of the Potash-Sulphur waters is too well known to admit of 
question, and so long as the waters do what is claimed for them, it makes but little 
difference whether their virtues come from one mineral constituent or another. The 
chief ingredients of the water are sodium sulphate, sodium carbonate and potassium 
chloride. The sodium amounting to 13.66 grains per gallon, the potassium to 3.51 
grains per gallon. The three springs vary in strength, that on the east side of the 
branch, and neai'est the bowling alley, carrying the largest amount of solid matter in 
solution. This latter has 66.00 grains to the gallon ; the spring south of it, on the 
same side, contains 49.68 grains to the gallon, while that on the west side of the 
stream contains 31.03 grains to the gallon." 

The following diseases are cured or benefited by the use of the waters of this 
valuable spring: Dyspepsia, gout, rheumatism, affections of the liver, kidneys and 
urinary organs, female diseases, dropsy, and all complaints originating from an 
excess of acid in the system, skin diseases and chronic dysentery. In diseases of the 
kidneys and urinary passages, stricture, gleet, and especially in calculous affections, 
there is no known remedy so efficacious as this water. It acts as a solvent in the 
various forms of gravel, and is very efiicacious in the treatment of all mercurial dis- 
eases. For many of these diseases the Potash-Sulphur water is considered the best. 

66 



w^s:^^^^^Mm^i 



^T'^v^^'yTKN 







(lill<?9'5 ^f?'t<? ^(i\p^iir 5pri9(^. 



/ITl 



^ ILLEN'S is another favorite resort for the visitor to Hot Springs, whether he 
\[^J_ be sick or well, and he goes there in crowds, in carriages, horseback, and 
even on foot. The distance is in the neighborhood of three miles, and a rugged, 
rambling, romantic three miles it is too. Leaving the city, the way leads at once 
into the forest along the south side of Hot Springs Mountain. The fording of the 
Gulpha is the first startling diversion — particularly, if that obstreperous little stream 
is "up," as the local vernacular puts it. An old mill in a state of picturesque 
dilapidation stands near the ford, and a rude cabin nestles under the pines close by, 
with the inevitable Arkansas accessories of dogs, pigs, chickens and youngsters. 
Beyond the ford the road takes up a tortuous winding and twisting around the hills, 
through swamps and thickets of scrub oaks, occasionally crossing a clearing, then 
skirting a noisy mountain stream, giving frequent glimpses of lofty mountains and 
deep gorges, until, after a final sharp curve, it brings up at the entrance of the hotel. 

Like the other resorts in the vicinity of Hot Springs, Gillen's has every charm 
that forest and stream, mountain and valley, can lend it. The hotel is a two-story 
frame building, well enough furnished and managed, and much resorted to bv 
parties of Hot Springers, who ride or drive out in the afternoon, take supper, and 
return in the evening. 

The spring occupies a fairy-like grotto of rock in a pagoda located in the center 
of an enclosed park across the road from the hotel. The waters are of the white 
sulphur variety, as indicated by the name, but are wholly free from sulphureted 
hydrogen, and thei'efore unusually palatable for sulphur water. Indeed, the taste 
smacks more of the chalybeate than of the sulphuric. The waters contain 
carbonate of iron, lime and magnesia, and very small quantities of sulphuric acid, 
and of free carbonic acid. There is no trace of chlorine. When exposed to the 
air, a small amount of iron oxide is slowly deposited. The total mineral solids per 
gallon are sixteen grains. 

The white sulphur water is employed with beneficial results in all cases of dropsy, 
liver and stomach disorders, diseases of the kidneys and bladder, and, like the potash- 
sulphur, is tonic in its nature, and counteracts the weakness incident to a course of 
hot baths. 

Gillen's Spring is a good starting point for several of the local natural wonders, 
notably Hell's Half Acre and the Thousand Dripping Springs. The former place 
of Sheolian name is distant but half or three-quarters of a mile from the hotel, and 
easily accessible, the landlord tells vou, alwavs, provided "the creek is not up." 
This uppishness, however, is a matter of such frequent occurrence that one often 
is inclined to wonder why they do not dam the creek — and proceeds to do so for 

68 



them. The distance may be covei'ed on foot or on a horse, the former method 
being preferable for many reasons, and is a pleasing though somewhat wearisome 
bit of mountain climbing. Once arrived, however, the visitor is well repaid for the 
undertaking. 

Imagine a tract of an acre or more, sunken from ten to thirty feet below the level 
of the surrounding territory, and presenting nothing to the view but a jagged, 
jumbled, chaotic mass 

of sharp-edged, irreg- ^ ^^ . ^t^>^» 

u 1 a r, m u 1 1 i-colored 
rocks. Rocks of all 
sizes and shapes and 
compositions ; rocks of 
limestone, slate, flint 
and granite ; rocks 
igneous and 
aqueous; 
and rocks 
the like of 
which are 
not to be 
found else- 
where. A 
barren . 
weird, for- 
bidding 
conglom- 
eration of 
boulders, an 
arsenal for 
Titans. Not 
a blade of 
grass, not 
a shrub, not 
even a lich- 
en dares 
brave the 
atmosphe re 
of d e a t h 
and desola- 
tion which 




seems to pervade the uncanny spot. Yet the lofty puies, the spreadhig oaks, the 
young undergrowth of shi-ubs and the wild flowers flourish even to the very brink. 
Indian tradition has it that, when Gitchee Manito, the great spirit, smote the crags 
of the mountains and released the imprisoned hot waters for the healing of the 
nations, he, finding no suitable place for the disposition of the shattered fragments, 
thrust his mightv finger into the earth and dumped them in the hole. 

Another local legend, from which the name undoubtedly comes, is that the 
spot is nothing more nor less than the original bottomless pit, with, paradoxical as 
it may appear, the Old Nick himself at the bottom, where he lies chained and 
under the crushing weight of innumerable boulders, powerless to do aught but 
groan and curse his awful fate. The old settlers who whisper this blood-curdling 
story among themselves, corroborate it by tales of strange experiences of belated 

hunters caught near Hell's Half Acre at sundown. It is 
asserted that time and again have they inhaled the 
sulphurous breath of the imprisoned demon as it rose 
from amongst the rocks, and have heard deep under- 
ground moans of pain and shrieks of savage profanity. 

As either legend solves the mystery, the reader may 
take his choice. The fact remains that the spot is a 
strange freak of nature and well worth a visit. 

The Thousand Dripping Springs, another natural 
curiosity, are located about a mile and a half to the 
northeast of Gillen's and can be 
reached bv a fairly good road. 
They issue from a huge I'ocky ledge 
which overhangs the roadway, and 
which is pierced by a myriad of 
crevices, each one form- 
ing a separate spring. 
The little cascades unite 
at the foot of the ledge, 
and form a stream of 
considerable size which 
dashes across the road 
into the woods and soon 
loses itself in the omni- 
present Gulpha. 

There is one advantage 
about the trip to Gillen's. 
One can return to Hot 




70 




G- <o. 



Springs bv 
a different 
route. The 
great trou- 
ble with 
the roads of 
this vicinity is that 
they all go off in 

different directions, and attend strictly 
to the business of reaching their 
destinations. There are no intersect- 
ing or cross roads except in a few 
cases, the one referred to being an 
example. To any observant eques- 
trian it is rather monotonous to retrace 
one's steps over the same road used in 
starting out, and the ability to vary the 
returning route lends a pleasing variety 
to the day's exercise. The landlord will 
explain all about the other road from 



Gillen's. The writer could never find it in the 
wide, wide world. 

Dunng the past season 
Gillen's has had an unpre- 
cedented cus- 
tom, and at 
times the hotel 
accommoda- 
tions were 
wholly inade- 
quate . To 
obviate this 
difficulty in 
future, Mr. 
John Gillen, 
the proprietor, 
contemplates building several 
neat cottages for the vise of 
families, and otherwise improv- 
ing the property. He also in- 
tends to improve the road from 
Hot Springs, with the idea of 
making it the best carriage and 
horseback drive out of the 
city. These commendable 
projects accomplished, 
^Ir. Gillen can congratu- 
^v--^^'^" late himself upon pos- 

sessing a magnificent health resort, and 
one that would be very attractive if 
entirely independent of its greater 
neighbor, Hot Springs. 

The hotel at Gillen's is named "The 
Victoria," and it is open the year round. 
Rates are from $io to $12 per week. 
The rooms are large, well furnished and 
ventilated, and the table excellent. A 
hack line runs daily between Hot Springs 
and Gillen's. making the journey in about 



forty minutes. 



71 




72 




fT\ou9taii> V/all(?y Sprir;)(^s. 



HE Mountain Valley Springs are located among the Ozarks, about twelve 
miles from Hot vSprings, and the trip affords an excellent opportunity to 
become acquainted with Nature's grand handiwork. The journey can he made any 
way to suit the inclination of the tourist. There is a regular hack line running daily 
from the hotels of Hot Springs to Mountain Valley. There is the more private and 
independent way of hiring your own horse and buggy, and driving and stopping at 
will, wherever you are interested, or it can be made the objective point of another 
horseback tour. It is one of the most charming rides in the vicinity. The road is 
over the mountains, plunging into gorges and through enchanted glens. Notwith- 
standing it has been recently improved, it is still a mountain road, and at times leads 
by points of thrilling interest. This very enjoyable ride terminates in one of the 
most beautiful valleys in the Ozark range. On all sides are the mountain joeaks, 
shutting in a portion of the earth of paradisiacal beauty, peace and quiet. Tall 
primeval forest trees are singing Nature's hymns over the valley. The patches of 
open are verdant with grass and shrubbery, and an air of seclusion and rest is all- 
prevalent. You will scarcely expect to find here a modern six-story hotel, with 
" all the latest conveniences and comforts," as the hotel men say — and you don't. 
The hotel is entirely in keeping with the surroundings. Vou can expect quiet and 
rest at an inn, but not at a modern resort hotel. This is just the difference between 
the big, bustling hostelries of the city we have just left behind, and the low, quaint 
structure nestling in Mountain Valley. Its picturesque architecture is Southern in 
character, being one story in height, and covering a great deal of ground. Cool, 
spacious verandas cover the whole front of the hotel. Trailing vines overrun it in 
greatest profusion, and, altogether, it is a charmingly rare picture, and fills the 
beholder with an overpowering desire to settle down here, bag and baggage, and 
stay until satisfied wnth Nature's charms. 

Nature sometimes scores a bull's-eye in her arrangement of things, and this feat 
w'as accomplished when these springs of health-renewing mineral Avaters were 
caused to burst forth in the midst of this beautiful valley. It is a matter of regret 
that the whole valley and springs could not have been located at a greater distance 
from the Hot .Springs, so that they could have a chance at fame on their own merits. 
The waters are very valuable, used in connection with the hot baths, as their 
combined minerals constitute a curative medium for internal use not equaled. The 
analysis shows a large percentage of bi-carbonate of ir<Mi, lime and magnesia, 
sulphate of lime, chloride of iron, chloride of iodine, phosphoric acid, but not even 
a trace of organic matter. 

73 



Jf^e Oija(:l7ita l^iu(?r apd its It^l^abitar^ts. 

fHE goal of many a horseback ride, the joy of the artist, the delight of the 
fisherman — the Ouachita occupies no mean rank among the attractions of 
Hot Springs. It is a child of the mountains, and is nourished by hundreds 
of brooks and springs that flow from their maternal bosoms. It sweeps in an 
irregular, sinuous semi-circle through the western and southern portions of the 
county, ranging from five to ten miles distant from Hot Springs. It may be 
reached by any one of six or seven roads. All are equally attractive to the 
equestrian, but the fisherman might not be so easily satisfied. 

The writer made promise of a fishing expedition early in this book, at the 
time we caught that first glimpse of the river from the car window, and now that 
we have "done" the city, the baths, the hotels, and all the neighboring resorts, 
it is time the promise should be fulfilled. 

We will wait until there has been a rain storm before we tackle the bass, 
for these fish are exceedingly shy during dry, pleasant weather, and take the 
hook best the day after a down-pour. The rainy day arriving, we get our outfit 
in readiness. You want a pair of wading boots, if you are not fond of wet feet, 
for this Arkansas fishing does not consist of sitting on the bank, or on a log all 
day and dropping your line in one place. If you want fish, you must go and 
work for them. A ten or twelve ounce bass rod, a good oiled silk line, some bass 
hooks on gimp, and some split shot, are all the tackle necessary. You will find 
plenty of darkies in the city who will supply the minnows, drive you to the river, 
and, even — as they do in many cases — catch your fish for you. The minnows 
caught in the Hot Springs Creek, above the Springs, are the toughest and most 
tenacious of life I have ever seen anywhere, so, when we start out at sunrise, our 
equipment is perfect. We can go to Thornton's mill, and fish below the dam. 
We can go out the Wildcat road, and boat it down the river for miles. We can 
strike the stream at Brown's ferry or Hurtz's ferry, or we can go by rail to Cove 
Creek. At any point, with conditions favorable, we can find fish, and we catch 
them too. We put in the day, or the two or three days, and when we return we 
will find, with ordinary luck, that we have a goodly assortment of large-mouthed 
black bass, of jack salmon, of black perch, of sunfish, and an occasional blue cat. 
The Ouachita fish are gamey, of firm flesh and excellent flavor. The best bass 
fishing is from March ist until the last of June, when they begin to spawn. 

There is no fishing in the tributary streams if the Ouachita is low, but when 
the latter gets on the rampage, as it frequently does, large schools of bass, salmon 
and cat, run up the Gulpha, Bull Bayou, Cove and Hot Springs Creeks, for 
sometimes a mile or two, and then the fisherman can get alb the sport he desires. 

74 



Fishing and hunting are so closely allied that it will not seem amiss to state 
at this juncture that the hunter can find no better field for his prowess than the 
mountains in the vicinage of Hot Springs. Deer are plentiful, wild turkeys, quail 
and smaller game are abundant, and if he can get on good terms with an owner 
■5 .. ot hounds, he can enjoy a genuine fox hunt, tliere 

being numbers of gray or silver foxes in the forest 
glades of the Ozarks. 



,.^p 







jHot 5pri9(55 ir^ {^<§(^r)d apd jHistory. 

The legends of a locality lend it a charm 

and give it drawing powers independent of 

^^ everything else. The mysterious phenomenon of 

hot water issuing from the ground naturally filled 

^:^-r ^«^^ the poetic Indian imagination with strange 

fancies, and was 
a source of much 
speculation to his 
aboriginal m i n d . 
resulting in many 
legendarv tales. 
Tradition is not 
wanting, either, 
connecting the Hot 
Springs with the 
Fountain of Youth 
persistently search- 
ed for by Ponce de 
Leon and DeSoto. 
To the halo of 
- , ' legend and ro- 
mance add inter- 
esting scenerv 
of moun- 
tain, glen, 
s t r e a ni 
iPlLand val- 

lev, pure 

p5^^'NGr ;m Tm^ OuachiTa a'i r, and 





springs that emit a thermal flood of health-bearing and life-renewing waters, and 
you have the conditions of a model resort, not simply attractive to the invalid, but to 
the most fastidious and fashionable pleasure-seeker, the poet and painter. 

The Indians were familiar with the curative properties of the waters before 
ever they were discovered by the white men, and doubtless their reputation among 

76 



the former spread over the entire continent. From the accounts in history, it is rea- 
sonalole to suppose that Ponce de Leon conceived his idea of a Fountain of Youth in 
the New World from Indian traditions of Hot Springs, which found their way from 
mouth to mouth to Florida, the scene of his explorations. Later, De Soto, in seek- 
ing to establish his predecessor's dream, discovered the Mississippi river, and 
traveled extensively in this region ; and it is related that in his wanderings he came 
to some hot lakes where he sojourned for the winter, and in the spring, in starting 
out toward the southeast, died somewhere near Helena, Arkansas. There are no 
other hot lakes in this vicinity or anywhere in this part of the country, and we are 
forced to the conclusion that he spent the winter at Hot Springs, the actual Foun- 
tain of Youth he was seeking. To account for there being lakes here, it is known 
that the Indians, who were aware of the healing powers of the waters, came from 
all the neighboring tribes to bathe. Observation has disclosed that an Indian never 
bathes for cleanliness ; therefore, it is correct to infer that he used the waters to 
alleviate the sufferings to which, as the son of the forest, he was natural heir. To 
form pools in which to plunge, he built dams across the valley, the remains of 
which were still visible when the "■overnment undertook the work of clearins: out the 
valley and forcing the creek under ground. 

Many Indian legends exist concerning the springs, but the most interesting and the 
only one which we shall give space to relate is the legend of how the water became hot. 

Long ago the Kanawagas were a powerful nation. They were mighty hunters, 
untiring in the chase and fierce in war. They were the favored people of the Great 
Spirit. Their huge statures, fierce faces, sinews like hickory knots, and unequaled 
skill with the bow and arrow and tomahawk, which was of such great size and 
weight that the strongest of their enemies could scarcely raise the blade to the 
level of their plumes, struck terror to the hearts of their foes and made them 
like women in battle. By means of their superior prowess they conquered 
and held all of the unsurpassed hunting grounds of the mountain and vallev 
countrv, from the great river, the Father of Waters, in the direction of the sunset, to 
the great desert plains. It was a beautiful region of mountain, lake and river, 
where the sun scarcely hid his face from the gaze of his children from one year's end 
to another, and game, fowl and fish were so plentiful that the lives of this favored 
people were never in danger from famine, and the warriors had time to pursue and 
conquer their enemies. In summer the mountains and valleys and plains were 
covered with wild flowers, and the ears of maize burst their husks and yielded 
abundant stores to the cultivation of the women of the tribe. In winter the warm 
valleys of the mountains afforded shelter from the storms and snows that raged when 
the Spirit of the Clouds was angry. Here they spread their w' igwams for the short 
winter. This was a great people and prosperous, but a fatal day came. Prosperity 
and happiness were turned to lamentations and grief. 

77 



A terrible disease had fastened itself upon the members of this great and pow- 
erful tribe, and spread from one to another with fatal rapidity. Nearly all the 
strong men were stricken and helpless, and many were dying daily from the terrible 
scourge. The hunters forsook the chase, the warpath was deserted, and desolation 

marked the whole face 
of the country that was 
once so prosperous and 
smiling. The flowers 
came back, as if to 
mock at the agony of the 
afflicted tribe ; but the 
corn grew not, for none 
had been planted. De- 
spair superseded the last 
ray of hope, and a great 
people awaited their ex- 
termmation with a stolidity 
becoming their character. 
Pure cool water only could allay 
their suffering in any degree, and, 
if as from common impulse, the 
survivors of the tribe dragged 
themselves together, the stronger 
assisting the weaker, to a valley of 
the mountains where the waters 
gushed forth in large quantities 
from numerous springs up on the 
mountain side, and came down in 
cooling, sparkling streams 
to the valley, m a k i n g^ 
cheerful music, in striking contrast to the sad scenes below. Here the doomed 
tribe assembled and allayed the tortures of their fevered bodies with cooling draughts. 
The old and wise men of the tribe said that the Great Spirit was offended because 
in their prosperity they had failed to acknowledge him as the source of their great- 
ness and power. They held dances and afflicted themselves with agonizing 
tortures in their efforts to appease his displeasure and restore themselves to his 
favor and to health again. 

It is supposed their beseechings were answered, for one bright afternoon, as the 
sun was going down again on their despair and helplessness, thin tongues of vapor 
were seen to issue with the water from the springs. They were too weak and 




WhEELtf^'5 TOF^D AND TcF^F^y. ON RoAD TO BEAF^ f^OUNTAIN- 



indifferent to notice it at first, but the volume increased and was soon accompanied 
by a hissing sound, and the waters that had heretofore been cool, first became warm 
to the touch and afterward coursed in a heated stream down the mountain side. 
Some thought the last comfort to their suffering was cut off, but the wise men saw in 
this an end to their afflictions. The Great Spirit had breathed his healing breath 
into the waters, and they ordered all the people to bathe their bodies in the cleansing 
flood. The cure was marvelous in its rapidity, and in a few days the whole tribe 
was restored to its former health, and forever since the waters have poured forth a 
healing flood for the benefit of all mankind. They were called thereafter. No-wa- 
say-lon, or the Breath of Healing, by which name they were known long after the 
advent of the white man. 

A tradition which seems to follow the foregoing legend in point of time, is to 
the effect that warfare and strife of any kind was never carried on here. The val- 
ley was called "Man-a-ta-ka" which signifies a "Place of Peace." It was neutral 
ground and here all hostilities were suspended, all met in friendship and smoked the 
pipe of peace. In this valley was absolute immunity from harm. It was religiously 
believed that if a life of any kind was taken here, even of the birds and beasts, or if 
strife was carried on, the Great Spirit would withdraw his breath from the waters, 
and they would forevermore be cold and without life and healing. Small wonder 
that the savage bosom was filled with sacred awe of the place, that the animals were 
tame and fearless, that the squirrels and smaller beasts disported unterrified on the 
mountain side, that the shrill war-whoop never sent terror to the breasts of defence- 
less women and children, that the hatchet was never raised above the head of an 
enemy, and the twang of the bow-string and the whiz of its deadly missile were 
never heard. 




J. 



— ^p 



Rcpoi^T OF THC Health Depart acnt, 



City of Kot Springs, flfkansas, 1892. 



Albanj% N. Y., for flr.st 9 months, 

Bridgeport, Conn., " 11 " 

Baltimore, Md., " 11 " 

Buffalo, N. Y., " 11 

Brooklyn, N. Y., " 11 

Concord, N. H., " 9 " 

Charleston, S. C, " 11 

Cincinnati, Ohio, " 11 " 

Chattanooga, Tenn., " 11 " 

Chicago, 111., " 9 

Detroit, Mich., " 11 " 

Dayton, Ohio, *' 11 " 

Evansville, Ind., ' 11 " 

Galveston, Tex., " 11 " 

Hartford, Conn., " 11 " 

Knoxville, Tenn., " 11 " 

Los Angeles, Cal., " 11 " 

Louisville, Ky., " 11 

Lynchliurg, Va., " 11 " 

Milwaukee, Wis., " 11 " 

Mobile, Ala., " 11 

Macon, Ga., " ... " 

Newjiort, N. J., " 11 " 

New Haven, Conn., " 8 " 

Kew York, N. Y., " 11 



THS IN A FEW OTHER CITIES AND TOWNS. 




891 25.00 


Nashville, Tenn., for tir 


^t 11 months, 1891... 


....22.80 


" 19.30 


New Orleans, La., " 


11 " " ... 


....26.51 


" 21.33 


Philadelphia, Pa., " 


11 " " ... 


....20.50 


" 23.71 


Paterson, N. J., " 


11 " " ... 


....24.66 


" 24.51 


Pittsburgh, Pa., " 


9 " " ... 


....25.48 


" 17.34 


Providence, R. I., " 


8 " " ... 


....19.12 


" 28.73 


Pensacola, Fla., " 


11 " " ... 


....17.27 


" 20.88 


Richmond, Va., " 


11 " " .. 


... 24.65 


" 22.72 


Sacramento, Cal., " 


8 " '• .. 


... 17.85 


" 23.70 


San Antonio, Tex., " 


4 " '• ... 


....19.04 


" 19.13 


St. Louis, Mo., " 


8 " '^ ... 


....19.80 


" 17.77 


Troy, N. Y., 


4 '■ " ... 


27.12 


" 16.21 


Washington, D. C, 


11 " •• ... 


....24.12 


" 17.25 


Wilmington, Del., " 


4 " " ... 


....23.27 


" 21.28 


Ottawa, Can., " 


9 " " ... 


....21.75 


" 16.27 


Hartford, " " 


11 " " ... 


23.07 


" 12.69 


Hamilton, " " 


9 " " .. 


....14.72 


" 14.30 


Halifax, " " 


9 " " .. 


21.46 


" 20.93 


Montreal, " " 


9 " " ... 


27.99 


" 20.57 


Quebec, " " 


9 " " .. 


41.72 


" 23.28 


St. John, " 


9 " " ... 


....17.80 


" 23.35 


Toronto, " " 


9 " " ... 


....17.34 


" 20.30 


Hot Springs, Residents. 




.. ..10.20 


" 19.12 


" Visitors and Residents 


....1:2.52 


" 27.71 









AREA OF CITY AND EXTENT OF PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. 



Population (resident and visiting) 21,000 

Residents 15,000 

No. i)f visitors during the year 55,000 



No. of Daily Papers. 

No. of Weekly Papers 

No. of Monthlies, Illustrated 

No. of Job Printing Offices 

Medical Journal 

No. of Churches 

No. of Schools 

No. of Hotels, Boarding Houses and Fur- 
nished Houses, more than 

No. of Banks 

No. of Drugstores 

No. of Physicians 

No. of Planing Mills and Sash and Door 

Factories 

No. of Grist Mills 

No. of Miles in City 



3 
4 
1 

4 
1 

18 
10 

500 
3 
22 

77 

3 
1 
5 



No. of Acres in City 3,169 

No. of Acres in Parks, including Govern- 
ment Reservation 888.7 

Lineal Miles of Street 70 

No. of Miles of Street Railwaj^ 10 

No. of Miles of Main Sewer 6.13 

Capacity Arctic Ice Factory per daj- in Tons... 25 

" Cold Storage " " " ... 15 

Valley " " " ... 15 

No. of Miles of Gas Main 4>i 

No. of Miles of Water Main 13 

No. of Fire Hydrants 73 

Capacity of Water Works per day in gal- 
lons 2,250,000 



No. of Miles of Telephone Wire.. 
No. of Miles of Electric Light Wire. 

No. of Hot Springs 

No. of Bath Houses 

No. of Steam Laundries 



100 

22 

72 

20 

2 



■^1- RETVTKRKS. l^ 



1888 Lowest temperature 13° above zero. 



" 


Highest 


' ' 


Mean 


' ' 


Range of 


1889 


Lowest 


' ' 


Highest 


' ' 


Mean 


1890 


Lowest 


' ' 


Highe-st 


' ' 


Range of 


1891 


Lowest 


» ' 


Highest 


" 


Range of 



.96° 

.55.17° 

..83° 

..14° 

,.89° 

..68.08° 

..13° 

.85° 

,.67° 

.16° 

.98° 

.84° 



RAINFALL. 

1888. 1889. 
No. of inches 63.50 50.77 



1890. 
79.93 



1891. 
70.86 



ELEVATION. 



In Valley, No. feet above Gulf of Mexico fi09.5 

Top of mountain on either side 1,200 

Latitude 34° 31' N 

Longitude 92° 50' W 

AVERAGE AGE AT DEATH. 

37 years, 8 months and 6 days. 

34 years, 3 months and 4 days. 

33 years, 6 months and 4 days. 



1889. 
1890. 
1891. 



PER CENT OF DEATHS. 



Visitors and Residents 8.10 

Residents 5.92 



1889. 

10.25 

7.64 



1890. 1891. 
9.95 12.52 
7.42 10.20 



80 



Sf" 



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>V,.l- \>-'', 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




III mil nil 

014 610 538 5 



